Juniper Lee Sorceress Supreme
by Cyber Commander
Summary: The Life and Times of Juniper Lee. It's five years in the future, and the Te Xuan Ze is growing up. A great opportunity looms on the horizon... Can June make the jump from Great Protector to Sorceress Supreme? The final chapter is up
1. Chapter 1

Hello fanfiction fans. Sorry I had to place this under Miscellaneous Cartoons, but until this particular cartoon gets its own place here, I had to.

Anyway, I've been dying to do a "Life and Times of Juniper Lee" fic for a long time. No, Danny Phantom is not going to guest star… This fic is a look into my view of a more experienced June.

So strap on your seatbelts, and get ready, because this one is going full speed ahead!

I do not own the rights to _The Life and Times of Juniper Lee._

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"_You are a champion, Juniper Lee… You will be the best of us!"_

- Ah-Mah, from "Dog Show Afternoon"

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It is a time in the not-too-distant future…

Okay, it is exactly five years in the future.

And things… Well, they haven't changed much.

In the World of Humans, little has changed. Five years hasn't made many advances, no ground-breaking changes have altered the status quo, and aging five years is not much in the long run for most folks.

In the World of Magic, even less has changed. The lifespans of magical creatures can be measured in centuries, and five years is nothing to them. The changes that have occurred are minimal.

But in five years, some people change a lot. Especially young people who have, during that time, aged from eleven years old to sixteen. In that time, their bodies have changed faster than their minds could keep up, and they struggle to understand the new feelings that are put upon them. Slowly, these youths are growing up.

And when puberty happens in a girl who is the one sworn to keep the balance between the World of Humans and the World of Magic, strange things happen…

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Two young teenagers walked down the city street towards the Cinemaplex. June held her arm around Marcus's waist, and he held her.

Looking at June right now, it was easy to recognize her as an older, more attractive version of the eleven-year-old Great Protector of five years ago. Her midriff still had the same odd symbol on it (she never got tired of it) and she covered the shirt with a jean jacket. She wore shorts made from a pair of jeans with the legs cut off. Her hair was still waist-length, still straight, and still with the streak of hot pink – it likely would never come off.

"So glad you could finally come, June," said Marcus.

"Well, it's been hectic,"answered June. "I've been studying a lot…"

"For the algebra test?" he asked.

"Well, that's one thing…" she answered with a smile.

"Think you'll like this movie," he said, as they looked at a poster. "They don't make ones like this any more… At least not until now."

June looked at the poster. The title was simply _Nick Six. _The painted art had the picture of an Old West lawman with grey hair and a tired face, holding a worn six-shooter.

"A Western?" asked June, with a giggle.

"Trust me," said Marcus. "They don't make them like this any more."

"Well…" said June.

She paused.

She looked down at the bracelet on her arm, which was flashing.

"So, should we get in line?" asked Marcus.

"Sure," said June, holding his arm. "I can't wait…"

She muttered something under her breath, and then her eyes glowed with golden light… She stroked Marcus's hair, and he blushed.

"Well," said Marcus, looking at the long line, "guess this is popular. Glad we got here early."

Marcus, of course, had no idea that the one clinging to his arm was merely an illusory clone of June…

…while the real June was dashing away towards the center of Orchid Bay.

**The Life and Times of Juniper Lee**

_**In a world full of monsters and demons,**_

_**June is the only one who sees them.**_

_**When evil beasts start their plotting and scheming,**_

_**She can stop the sounds of the screaming…**_

**_Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!_**

_**You can't stop the girl…**_

_**When crazy creatures come, June has to stop them;**_

_**She'd be happy if it wasn't her problem;**_

_**She's the one who has to resolve them,**_

_**Has to resolve them…**_

_**Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!**_

_**You can't stop the girl…**_

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**JUNIPER LEE**

**SORCERESS SUPREME**

**A fanfic by Cyber Commander**

**Chapter One**

**Streets of Fire**

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Up until the point where she was thirteen years old, being the Te Xuan Ze had a lot of problems. The hardest was having to run out on her friends whenever duty called. It made her feel guilty, and always forced her to make up stories and tell outright lies.

So figuring out how to cast the Spirit Illusion Spell had been one of the best things that ever happened to her in a life that usually went wrong.

The spell didn't truly create a duplicate of herself. To put it in simple terms, she had to cast the spell on an object or person as a focus (in this case, she had used Marcus), and everyone within a hundred feet of the focus would perceive her as being there, including the focus if she chose a person. Everyone would be able to see, hear, and even touch Juniper Lee, even though she wasn't truly there.

And this was only one of many powerful spells she had mastered.

As she ran towards the center of Orchid Bay, June looked at her watch.

"Okay…." she said. "The movie doesn't start for another half-hour, most movies have twenty minutes of previews, commercials, and other junk before they start, so if I'm lucky, this won't take more than fifty minutes to clean up."

She made a great leap, and landed on the roof of a building…

…and saw a flaming portal start to appear.

"Of course…" she muttered. "To clean this up, I might need some extra-strength detergent…"

She took a cell phone out of her pocket and speed-dialed a number.

"Monroe?" she asked as it was picked up. "Please tell me that Flamara is still in the hooscow…"

"Uh, yeah, about that, lass," answered Monroe, "I was going to tell you when you got back… She broke free from the place you banished her to about a half hour ago."

"Why didn't you call me?" shouted June. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"Aye, it took a month for the hair on my back to grow properly again," he replied. "But I thought she'd wait at least a day… And seeing as you told me not to interrupt your date unless it was something your bracelet thought was important…"

"Lovely…" said June, reaching into her pocket.

She pulled out a glowing blue gem – a banishment crystal – and aimed it at the growing portal.

"Okay, Flamara…" she muttered. "As much as I hate to attack by ambush, I'm going to banish your butt right back as soon as soon as you fly out of there…"

She waited…

There was a long pause.

She tapped her foot.

"Come on…" she muttered. "You usually come charging with both barrels loaded… What's the hold up?"

Then a flaming tendril shot out of the portal and grabbed the crystal!

"Uh… That was unexpected…" she said.

Finally, as she looked up, her foe walked out of the portal. Flamara was pretty intimidating. If she wasn't ten feet tall, surrounded by an aura of fire, with a mane of flames for hair, you might have mistaken her for some swimsuit model in an indecent outfit, and not the evil fire savant that she was.

She held the banishment crystal and casually tossed it up and caught it again.

"Did you really think I couldn't see you from the other side?" she asked.

"There was always hope," answered June. "Put on some muscle, I see…"

"Not exactly much to do when you're banished," she said with a frown. "So I got on a fitness kick to prepare for when I got out."

_That's it, keep talking… _thought June. _Give me time to cast something powerful…_

"Yeah?" said June. "Don't you know what an escaped convict is supposed to do when she escapes? She doesn't go looking for the law… She runs to Canada and hides out."

"I hate Canada…" replied Flamara. "It's cold up there, and I despise hockey. Anyway, once I got out, I thought I'd celebrate with a little destruction…

"And then maybe I'll make a snack… I was thinking a s'more…

"…using a certain teenage Asian girl in place of chocolate."

"Eat this!" shouted June.

She threw her hand forward, and strands of silk shot from her fingertips, entangling the demoness in webs. She grunted as the bonds looped over her…

She roared as flames erupted around her, burning them to ashes.

"Did you really think that would hold…" she started.

She was interrupted as June's fist slammed into her torso.

"No, I didn't!" replied June, clocking her in the chin. "The tangleweb was meant to distract you so I could beat you to a pulp!"

She kicked the savant in the stomach and she stumbled towards the edge of the roof…

June aimed a flying kick, and she fell over the side.

"Hmm…" said June, looking over the edge.

Then she stepped backwards, as Flamara rose up, crossing her arms, clearly angry.

"Did you forget that I could levitate?" she asked.

"Uh, no…" replied June. "Honestly, I was kind of hoping that _you _had forgotten that you could levitate."

Flamara glared at her, and her eyes glowed fiery red.

_Here it comes… _thought June.

The demoness pointed at her, and a stream of flames shot towards the Great Protector. June raised her arm, and her bracelet glowed with a different light. A magical barrier appeared on her arm like a shield…

…one of the many spells she had discovered she could combine with the bracelet over the past five years.

The shield held, but she was pushed back towards the other side of the roof, towards the other edge.

Levitating was one thing she _couldn't _do on her own. She was going down one way or the other…

But whether she landed or crashed was something she could control.

She backflipped off the roof, and guided herself to the street below, making a four-point landing.

She wasn't powerful enough to leap tall buildings in a single bound… But she could leap off them pretty well.

As she looked up, she sighed.

_Next time I go up against a nasty fire savant, _she thought, _I'm packing some sunscreen._

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Marcus finally got up to the concession stand with the fake June clinging to his arm.

"All right, let's see…" he said. "We'll have a jumbo-sized bucket of popcorn… Uh, do you want butter on your popcorn?"

"Only if it's real butter and not some yellow liquid made out of chemicals," said the fake June.

"You heard her," said Marcus. "And two large Diet Pepsis."

"No candy?" asked the fake June.

Marcus whispered in the fake June's ear.

"Keep quiet about this…" he whispered, "but I snuck in some of my own…"

He motioned to his backpack.

"The prices in this place are crazy," he said. "I don't know how they justify charging more for popcorn than they do for a ticket…"

"Well, that's how theaters make a profit," answered the faux June. "It isn't like the studios pay them much to show the movies, and most of box office proceeds go to them. The theater itself has to make money, so…"

Marcus shrugged.

"I guess you have a point…" he said.

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June leapt out of the way as a ball of flame scorched the sidewalk.

"You'll be glad to know Te Xuan Ze," said Flamara, as she formed another projectile, "that I only intend to destroy you. Your city is completely safe this time…"

She threw another ball of flame.

"Once you're toasted extra-crispy, I _will _go into hiding… Maybe accept that offer for a modeling job I once got in the Underworld…"

"Pardon me if I say I don't believe you," answered June.

"Are you calling me a liar?" asked Flamara, annoyed.

"Well, your pants are certainly on fire," replied June.

She dodged the next blast, and landed by a fire hydrant.

_Hey… _she thought.

_They say fight fire with fire… but maybe fighting fire with water makes more sense…_

She socked the hydrant, smashing it in half, and a spout of water shot up over her! Then she lifted her hand and chanted…

The spout aimed forward, and crashed into her foe! Flamara screamed and was thrown backwards!

She fell against a car, and a cloud of steam rose as she sputtered…

"Angry, huh?" asked June. "I'd say you were steamed!"

The water slowly died down, and Flamara gasped for breath. Her aura of flames was gone.

_Okay… _thought June. _Her pilot light is out, and until she manages to relight it, most of her powers are out of reach…_

_Most, that is… Still have to be careful…_

June slowly walked towards the demoness…

Flamara slowly took a leather pouch from her belt.

"HEY!" shouted June. "That's a Six Demon Bag! Where did you…"

Flamara reached into the sack and pulled out a red gem. She threw it, and it hit June in the chest…

And explosion hurled the Te Xuan Ze backwards. She crashed into a group of garbage cans.

June held her head…

Six Demon Bags were very powerful magic items that were created by Chinese magicians. She should know… She had used one once or twice when she had a very powerful creature to deal with. Ah-Mah had used them many times when she had been Te Xuan Ze, and she still had a couple in her attic.

But it was an item you had to be _very _careful with.

Flamara walked up to her, holding the Bag in her left hand.

"You know, Juniper Lee…" she said. "Perhaps I won't make you into a s'more…"

She held up the banishment crystal that June had tried to use on her.

"I'd love it much more…" she continued, "if I could do to you what you did to me!"

"HA!" laughed June. "What an idiot! You're holding it backwards!"

"Oh, please…" said Flamara, with a grin.

She held it up, and it started to glow.

"Do you actually think I'd fall for such a dumb bluff?"

It glowed brighter…

Then a blast from it shot behind her, and a lamppost vanished in an aura of blue light.

The demoness looked dumbfounded…

"Okay…" she muttered. "So you weren't bluffing. Easily fixed… I'll simply aim it around the other way and…"

In the next second, June had her.

The young Protector's legs locked around the savant's waist, and then her fists hammered into her face. The banishment crystal fell to the ground, and the Six Demon Bag followed.

Flamara staggered back under the onslaught, with the smaller magical being still clinging to her! Blow after blow fell, until finally, the fire savant collapsed.

June got up and retrieved the crystal.

"Parole denied," said the Te Xuan Ze. "And I'm putting you in a much colder place this time…"

Flamara looked in fear as the crystal started to glow…

"_Levistes, mephistus, cainius, molikrothus…" _chanted June.

Flamara cried out, and then vanished in a burst of blue smoke.

June picked up the Six Demon Bag.

Maybe Ah-Mah could find something to do with it. In the meantime…

She checked her watch.

…she had done it with eleven minutes to spare.

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June crept into the darkened theater under a veil of invisibility. As she had hoped, a preview was still playing. It was easy to find the focus of her spell; finding a spell you had cast yourself was a necessary part of any sorcerer's procedures.

Quickly, she cancelled the illusion and took her doppelganger's place. And not a moment too soon. The movie was starting.

"So," she asked Marcus, "you say this is a good movie."

"It got really good reviews," he answered. "They said it was done in the tradition of old 'spaghetti Westerns' from the Clint Eastwood era."

"I always loved those," said June.

Some undoubtedly Western music started to play, and a narrator spoke up.

"_The decades after the gold rush of '49 brought all sorts of folk to the West Coast… Some good, some bad…_

"…_mostly bad…_

"_We needed a hundred lawmen to keep the peace, and we only got a few…_

"_But we did manage to get some good ones._

"_I remember one lawman I used to admire. I think his real name was Nicholas Nance. But no one ever called him that. They called him by a name he earned as a lawman…_

"_They called him Nick Six…"_

June started to munch on the popcorn.

"Didn't you say you were going to wait?" asked Marcus.

June paused.

The Spirit Illusion wasn't perfect. For one thing, it couldn't eat, so it had to make excuses whenever it was offered food.

"Yeah…" answered June. "I was going to… wait until the movie started. Can't eat all the popcorn before it starts, right?"

"True…" said Marcus.

He opened his backpack.

"But we can start on this candy, too. You want peanut butter cups, or red-hot cinnamon jellybeans?"

June's eyes opened nervously.

"Peanut butter cups, definitely…" she said, reaching for the candy.

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Half an hour into the movie, a tense scene was underway. A young tough with two other young toughs behind him were confronting a young woman in a bar.

"Come, on, Mary," said the tough, "you know you want it…"

"When I told you I wanted you gone, Luke, I meant it," answered Mary.

"Ain't that too bad," said Luke. "I don't like it when I don't get what I want…"

Then his two friends grabbed her by the arms. She squirmed, but they were too strong for her.

"No one says no to me, Mary…" said Luke.

Then two gunshots sounded. Everyone turned towards the door.

A much older man, dressed in black, wearing a sheriff's star, was standing in the door. He had grey hair, and a tired face.

He held a six shooter (an old Colt Revolver) that had apparently just been fired.

"Three armed and strong men harassing a defenseless woman," he said, shaking his head. "And I thought I had seen it all…"

Luke's two friends tossed Mary aside, and reached for their weapons. The sheriff quickly fired two rounds, and they clutched their hands in pain, dropping them.

Then Luke himself drew his own weapon, but another shot sent it flying from him.

Luke looked, and saw that it was fifteen feet from him.

The sheriff pulled down the cock of his six-shooter and aimed.

"I suggest you leave it there, my friend, or the next one is going to be aimed differently…"

"Ha!" laughed Luke. "You fired five of your six bullets! You only have one left! Are you so sure you can hit me with it?"

"Are you really willing," said the sheriff, "to take that chance?"

They stared at each other.

"You three had best leave before you commit an offense that would be worth the judge's time," warned the sheriff.

Luke glared at him, and then he motioned to his friends. They rushed out the door.

The sheriff walked up to the woman and helped her to her feet.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Thanks, Nick…"

"How does one manage to be so intimidating with just words?" asked Marcus. "Only one bullet wouldn't have been much against three…"

"Well," said June with a shrug, "authority figures have to be intimidating to get their point across…"

_I should know… _she thought.

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In a scene a half-hour later, Nick was having his arm bandaged by a doctor, while Mary and her boyfriend (a young guy named Cletus) looked on. Cletus had since been established as the son of the man who owned the gun store.

"You were lucky, Nick," muttered the doctor. "This was just a scratch. But next time it might be worse…"

"Can't worry about a little cut now," said the sheriff. "Bart is still out there…"

"Nick," said Cletus, "maybe you should think about trading in that old Colt. My pop could set you up with something better… A Peacemaker, maybe."

"A Peacemaker?" asked Nick, looking at his old-fashioned Colt. "Thanks, but… I never had any use for those things…"

"Darn…" muttered June. "Popcorn's gone…"

"You eat like a horse, June," said Marcus with a smile. "How do you stay so thin?"

"I get a lot of exercise," answered June.

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An hour later…

All eyes were on the screen. Nick was being held by his arms by two outlaws, while a third was in front of him…

The third was the antagonist of the film, a young gunfighter named Black Bart.

"This is it, sheriff…" said Bart, with a smile. "Once I'm done with you, they're gonna know the name Black Bart in every town west of the Rio Grande!"

"You're gonna shoot me while your two pals restrain me?" asked Nick. "Yeah, they'll know your name… They'll know you as a murderer."

"Not gonna do that…" answered Bart. "I'm not as low-down as you think. I'll give ya a sportin' chance…"

"Bart…" asked one of his friends. "You aren't actually going to give him back his gun?"

Bart looked at the older man.

"Naw…" said Bart. "Fred… Give him _your _gun."

The thug looked confused. Then he took his own gun – a Colt Peacemaker – and placed it in Nick's holster.

"Clear out," ordered Bart.

Everyone watched from the sidelines. Mary and Cletus watched from indoors.

"Heard you weren't very experienced with a Peacemaker, sheriff," said Bart. "Well, too bad… I'm rather good with one."

Nick's eyes narrowed.

"We draw on three then," said Bart. "One…"

Everyone tensed…

"Two…"

June held onto Marcus.

"Three!"

A gunshot fired…

Black Bart fell to his knees… He dropped his weapon…

…and then fell flat to the ground.

Nick Six held the Peacemaker, and smoke poured from it.

"I said I never had any use for it…" said Nick, slowly. "I never said I didn't know how to use it."

He looked at the dead outlaw, and sadly shook his head. Then he twirled the revolver and placed it in his holster.

He walked in the other direction, and the end credits started to roll.

"You were right…" said June, in shock. "They don't make movies like that anymore…"

"That Nick Six was one bad dude…" muttered Marcus.

June nodded.

_He was like the Te Xuan Ze of the Old West, _she thought.

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When a boy asks a girl out for dinner and a movie, the movie is only half of the equation. Soon after, the two of them were discussing the movie while waiting for pizza.

"I gotta admit," said Marcus, "it was quite a movie… But not realistic… how could Nick have beaten Bart in a fair fight when Bart was younger, faster, and more skilled?"

June sipped her soda.

"Bart was fighting for all the wrong reasons," she said. "Greed, lust for glory… While Nick was fighting to protect innocents. They say the higher powers tend to favor such people…"

She sipped her soda again.

"Of course…" she said, "the reason Nick won might have been because it was a movie, and it needed a happy ending!"

They laughed.

The pizza came to the table.

"So…" said Marcus. "You been thinking about college?"

"Uh… sometimes…" said June, with a forced smile.

"I heard some teachers say you were material for Harvard," said Marcus.

June gave a sad look.

"Uh… yeah…" she muttered. "Well… That would be great, but I could never move away from home… I'm likely just going to apply to Orchid Bay University."

Marcus gave her a strange look.

"You'd turn down an Ivy League school in order to stay at home?" he asked.

June gave the sad look again.

"Pizza's getting cold…" she said, with a forced grin.

_How can I possibly tell him… _she thought.

…_that I really don't have a choice?_

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Hundreds of miles away, just outside of London, was a luxurious mansion.

In the finest room of the mansion, a very old man lay on a bed. Surrounding him were his children, grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren, all of them with tears in their eyes.

A priest stood by the side of the bed. He touched the old man's hand…

He started to pray…

In one part of the room, unseen by anyone, where two figures clad in long, dark robes.

"Anthony is gone," said one of them. "Well, he led a very long life…"

"True," said the other one. "He likely had no regrets. But now we must proceed with our plan. We must contact the new candidate."

"But what if the child refuses?" asked the first. "She likely would not have accepted her first duty if she had been given a choice. How will she be convinced to try to take a second when she does not have to?"

"Trust me," said the second. "I have studied her career closely. The offer we will make would indeed give her more responsibility…

"But I doubt she will refuse.

"The role of Te Xuan Ze comes with few tangible rewards…

"The additional role comes with many."

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**MONSTER MAXIM**

**Fire Savant**

**Rarity: **Very Rare

**Place of Origin: **Italy

**Magical Class: **5

**Alliance: **Energy

**Average Height: **9'10"

**Average Weight: **450 lbs

**Maximum Age: **1,500 years

**Powers: **Able to create fire and manipulate any fires that they have created. Able to levitate for short amounts of time. Able to create portals to the Realm of Fire and use them to travel to any location on Earth.

**Limitations: **Vulnerable to water, carbon dioxide, fire-smothering foam, and other substances which extinguish fire. Rendered helpless in sub-zero weather.

**Profile: **Some beings think that fire savants live in the core of the Earth, but this is untrue. The first of these beings appeared in Italy shortly before the World of Humans and the World of Magic separated. Calling these creatures demons is a misnomer – they are actually elemental spirits who are born of fire.

A fire savant's disposition depends on gender. Male savants are kindly creatures who like to build things, and being able to control fire makes them excellent blacksmiths. Female savants, like Flamara, are often wicked and destructive creatures. They also tend to be exhibitionists, and other female monsters don't like them. The males tend to dislike the females as well, and the females usually turn to seducing them if they want a child.

Some say that the worst natural disasters involving fire were actually the work of female fire savants, and that more than one forest fire or wildfire was their doing. When male savants are asked, they deny knowing one way or another. This could be the case… Or they could be too ashamed of the female members of their race to admit it.

**A note on this system:**

"Magical Class" rates a magical creature on a system that measures magical power. One is lowest, and Twelve is theoretically highest. Five is pretty powerful (June herself as an eleven-year-old is Class Six), Steven is Class Seven (although he can only harness most of his powers in the Dream Realm), and Loki, the most powerful foe June has ever faced, is Class Eleven. It is speculated that the current Elders are Class Twelve, but they are never seen and their power cannot be measured.

"Alliance" is the force of nature or metaphysical force that the creature is allied with, whether it knows it or not. The six Alliances are Matter, Energy, Thought, Time, Darkness, and Light. June's Alliance is Light; not all her enemies are allied with Darkness, even though many are (Steven's Alliance is Thought, for instance).

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**_Coming up next: June visits her grandmother to dispose of the Six Demon Bag and have a quiet conversation, when a strange express letter comes, followed by a stranger visitor who explains something that might change Juniper Lee's life forever._**

"_**Offer of Promotion" is coming up next.**_


	2. Promotion Offer

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**Chapter Two**

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**Promotion Offer**

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"Mom, I'm home," said June.

"Mom's not home," said Ray-Ray's voice. "She got opera tickets. I think she got them to get even with dad for taking her to that Jackie Chan film festival last month."

June grinned and walked into the living room where the television was – naturally – set to one of the channels that broadcast from the World of Magic. Ray-Ray took the opportunity to watch it whenever their parents weren't home. Aging from eight to thirteen had matured him a little, but not as much as June would have liked.

Ray-Ray and Monroe were parked on the couch. June recognized the program – _Betty the Vampire. _This show was a lot like _Buffy the Vampire Slayer, _the main difference being that the young heroine was vampire, rather than a vampire slayer.

"So, how did it go with Flamara?" asked Monroe.

"I put her on ice, literally," muttered June. "We won't be seeing her again…"

She threw the Six Demon Bag down on the couch.

"We can only hope…" muttered Monroe.

"What?" asked June.

"Flamara?" asked Ray-Ray. "The ten-foot-tall fire chick who tried to burn down the outlet mall?"

"I still think it would have been no big loss, but yes," answered June.

"Cool…" muttered Ray-Ray. "You know, when I was a little kid, and I was bad, mom sent me to my room… I wish it could be that easy with these guys…"

"Hey, that's an idea…" said June with a grin. "If Flamara ever gets out again and does something bad, we'll send her to your room!"

"Uh… why?" asked Ray-Ray.

"Because," answered June, "your room is such a mess, Flamara would never find her way out!"

Monroe snickered.

"Very funny…" grumbled Ray-Ray. "Hey… what's that?"

"Something she had with her," answered June, picking it up. "It's called a Six Demon Bag…"

"COOL!" shouted Ray-Ray, reaching for it. "Are there six demons in it?"

"NO!" shouted June, pulling it out of his reach.

"Listen closely, Ray-Ray…" said June, sternly. "A Six Demon Bag is a powerful magical weapon made by Chinese sorcerers. It contains fire, thunder, wind, and other powerful elemental forces. And they can used to create explosive projectiles.

"And in case you are wondering, no, I am not keeping it. Tomorrow morning, I'm giving it to Ah-Mah for safekeeping."

"Aw…" muttered Monroe. "She has all the powerful jim-jams. Why does she keep everything with all the oomph?"

"Because she has a magical vault!" answered June. "Do you know what would happen if, heavens forbid, Flamara got ahold of, say, that scepter that we used to call Thor? She could use it to call an evil immortal who was just as powerful!

"Things this dangerous need to be in a place where they can't be stolen, Ray-Ray, and her house is more secure."

"Except for the time it got infested with imps," said Monroe.

"Imps?" asked June.

"Ya know how most people get mice or roaches?" asked Monroe. "Magical creatures get imps, and they're just as bad. Yer grandma had quite a problem with them fifteen years ago, and in order to get rid of them she had to get a…"

He shuddered.

"…a felis demon…"

June gave him a strange look.

"What's a…" she asked.

"It's a demon that looks like a cat!" shouted Monroe. "A cat with small wings. And for all practical purposes, it IS a cat! Most magical creatures think they're so cute and cuddly and adorable…"

He made a sickening face.

"As you might expect, someone like me doesn't get along very well with cats…"

"Oh, you are one in a million…" muttered June.

"Guys…" said Ray-Ray. "Looks like Betty is stopping for a snack…"

They looked at the television… The heroine was holding a young man and stroking his hair.

She smiled sweetly, showing small fangs… Slowly, she moved towards his neck…

"That's it!" laughed Ray-Ray. "Go for the jugular!"

"That's awful…" muttered June. "What would happen if I tricked Marcus into cuddling with me just so I could… feed on him?"

"She won't kill him," assured Ray-Ray. "He'll wake up in the morning feeling… drained."

Then he burst out laughing.

"Well I'm feeling drained too," said June, getting up.

She picked up the bag.

"I don't want to be disturbed unless there's A. fire, B. copious blood loss, or C. something that is certain to lead to either A. or B."

"You got it…" said Ray-Ray.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June slipped on her pajama top.

Her bed was very neatly made, but that made sense. She very rarely used it any more. For the past two years, the only time she truly slept was when she was sick.

Two years ago, she learned how to enter trance.

She turned the lights off, and moved to a pile of comfortable pillows in the center of the room.

She set the magical bag down, and then sat on the pillows, her legs folded in the lotus position. Then she held her arms out and closed her eyes.

What was trance? It was a mystical form of meditation that could be used as a substitute for sleep. If you knew how to do it, you need never worry about insomnia – it could be entered instantly. The one doing it could invoke dreams if she desired, making it as pleasant as true sleep.

The biggest advantage was, one hour of trance rested the mind and body as much as two hours of true sleep. No matter how hard a day June had or how hectic her schedule was, she always came out of it refreshed and smiling.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Hey, June," said Ray-Ray, at eight the next morning. "Mom's making…"

He opened the door to her room.

"…pancakes…"

June was still in trance.

"Eh, she's channeling the spirits…" muttered Ray-Ray. "Hey…"

He noticed the Six Demon Bag in front of her.

Ray-Ray snuck in.

"She won't really mind if I sneak a peak at that thing…" he muttered.

He crept towards the Bag…

He reached for it…

"Easy…" he said. "Easy…"

June's arm darted forward and grabbed him by the collar.

She pulled him down to eye-level and glared at him angrily.

Another benefit to trance was, unlike sleep, you were aware of your surroundings, and could snap out of it in an instant.

"Heh, heh…" said Ray-Ray. "Uh… Mom's making pancakes…"

"You want them to be your last meal?" asked June. "What did I tell you about sneaking into my room? I know how to give a wedgie that's fatal now."

"I'm… sorry?" said Ray-Ray, in fear.

"I'll meet you at breakfast," said June. "And after someone takes the last pancake, I'll decide whether to accept your apology, or deliver death with a yank of your underwear."

She let go of him, and he ran out of the room.

"One of these days, he'll learn…" she muttered.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June was planning to take the DMV test in two months, and she was certain she could get her license, but she wasn't exactly sure what she would do with it.

A lot of modern conveniences could aid the Te Xuan Ze, but a car wasn't exactly one of them. And since no insurance companies covered damage done by magic, saving for a car didn't seem worth it.

She toyed with the idea of saving for a motorcycle, which seemed the best bet. She knew stories of a lot of Te Xuan Ze who rode a mount into battle (usually a horse, but not always). If her ancestors could ride into battle on a charging steed, why not update it to a motorcycle?

She considered this, as she rode her trusty ten-speed up to her grandmother's house. (A trip there wasn't enough to ask one of her parents to ride shotgun while she applied learner's permit privileges – in her opinion.)

She rang the doorbell.

"Come in!" called Ah-Mah's voice. "It's open!"

June walked in, and walked into the den, where her grandmother was hanging a painting.

"Like it?" asked Ah-Mah. "I bought from a gnome who likes to paint. This was one of his best…"

June looked at it.

"It's a painting of Abraham Lincoln…" she said.

"Ah!" said Ah-Mah. "The gnome who sold this to me is over four-hundred years old. He got the real Lincoln to pose for him!"

"Really?" replied June, now impressed.

"So what's new, June?" asked Ah-Mah.

"Well…" said June, placing the Bag on the coffee table.

"A Six Demon Bag?" asked Ah-Mah. "Who did you take that from?"

"Flamara," said June. "She escaped somehow…"

Ah-Mah sighed.

"It won't be the last time, I'm afraid…" she said, taking the Bag.

"Oh, I banished her to the Prison of Ice," said June. "She's probably struggling just to keep her flame lit. She won't be getting out again."

"That's what my father said," muttered Ah-Mah. "Flamara is a regular escape artist, June. I had to deal with her four times, and my father had to deal with her three times. She's very good at escaping banishment."

She shook her head.

"My advice… Next time she strikes, pull out the big guns and do what I should have done the last time I faced her. Use the spell that will banish her for eternity."

"What?" said June, in surprise.

She paused.

"I can… do that?" she asked. "Condemn someone to prison… forever?"

Ah-Mah nodded.

"It's in the spellbook on banishment spells, page three-hundred and forty-two," said Ah-Mah. "She's escaped seven times, and if she gets loose an eighth time and tries to torch the city again, it's a punishment that's certainly justified.

"It was already justified, and I almost did it. But when I made that known, she turned to a quivering wreck of jelly, and begged for mercy, groveling at my feet and crying her eyes out. It was pitiful… So I settled for a normal banishment. I shouldn't have been so merciful… She apparently had been crying crocodile tears, and intended to escape after I had retired. And she did…"

June was quiet for a minute…

The doorbell rang.

"One minute," said Ah-Mah.

She went to the door and opened it.

Hovering over the ground was a gaseous looking creature with a sallow face, wearing a ragged turban.

"Express letter for Jasmine Lee," he said, handing her an envelope.

"Uh, thank you…" she said, taking it.

She opened her purse.

"Here," she said, handing him a dollar, "go buy yourself a new turban."

"Have a nice day…" he said.

And then he flew away so fast that a gust of wind was left in his wake.

"Who was that?" asked June, as her grandmother came back into the den.

"Ah, just a messenger genie," said Ah-Mah. "So… how about tea and scones?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"So much is happening, Ah-Mah," said June, sipping the tea. "I was thinking about saving up for a motorcycle…"

"Heh, heh," laughed Ah-Mah. "A modern spin on the mounted Te Xuan Ze, huh? That would certainly be a first…

"Placius the Wise was the best mounted warrior in the Te Xuan Ze line. He and his horse were never apart. Animals tend to be able to see magical creatures, but most of them are afraid of them. Placius's horse was trained not to panic at the sight of the most intimidating demons – it bravely carried him into battle against them.

"And Placius was a master of all sorts of mounted techniques… rideby attacks, tramples, quick mount, quick dismount, the works.

"Sadly…"

She paused.

"What?" asked June.

"Well…" answered Ah-Mah. "His original horse was killed in battle with a particularly nasty shadow oni. He mourned for his partner for a long time… It was two years before he could train a new horse."

"Well…" said June. "I certainly wouldn't get that attached to a motorcycle."

"Indeed," said Ah-Mah. "But promise me you'll wear a helmet."

"Yeah, uh…" muttered June. "Ah-Mah, that letter, shouldn't you see what it is?"

"Oh yeah," said Ah-Mah.

She looked at it.

"Notice of death?" she said, looking at it.

"Someone died?" asked June. "Who?"

"Let's hope it's someone I hate," said Ah-Mah with a grin, opening it.

She looked at the letter.

"Anthony Peters," she said, slowly reading it.

"Did you know him?" asked June.

"Barely," answered Ah-Mah. "He was a rich old guy in England who knew a few magic tricks. Eh, no wonder he passed away… He was ninety-eight!"

She continued to read.

"Wait a second…" she said.

She continued to read.

"Inform your granddaughter… Expect a special visitor at noon…"

She looked at June.

"June…" she said.

"I never met him!" protested June.

Ah-Mah looked at the clock.

It was eleven.

"Maybe I should make a pot of coffee and some finger sandwiches…" she said. "I have a feeling that this visitor is going to be _really _special…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Any threes?" asked June.

"Go fish…" said Ah-Mah.

"Why are we playing this?" asked June.

"We don't have enough people for bridge…"answered Ah-Mah, with a shrug.

June looked at the clock, which stood at ten minutes to noon.

She looked at her bracelet. She never thought she would actually _want _it to go off… But she did. For the first time ever, someone wanted to see her _and _her grandmother.

Something big was up, very big…

And in other spots in Orchid Bay, that same feeling could be felt…

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In leprechaun territory, Jeff and Lou were reclining against a tree. Then Jeff sat up.

"Hey, dude," he said. "I'm getting some seriously strange vibes, man…"

"Really?" he replied. "You sure it's not gas from that burrito?"

"No…" said Jeff. "Totally bad karma… Something's up…"

In the middle of town, two Fix-It Elves were working on a car.

"Okay, gimme the screwdriver…" said one of them.

The other one paused, and then handed him a screwdriver.

"No, Clyde, this is a regular one, I need the Philips," said the first.

"Sorry…" said Clyde, looking for the other one.

"Something wrong?" asked the first.

"Dunno…" said Clyde. "I just have a funny feeling…"

In Giant Territory, the Tiny Giant stood atop the huge lizard that June had given him. He casually sniffed the air.

"Hmm…" he said. "I may not smell the blood of an Englishman, but something smells uncouth…"

The huge lizard growled.

"You smell it too, boy?" he asked. "Something must be up…"

On the city streets, Cletus and Gus paused.

"I feel something in the air…" muttered Cletus.

"The Racatan coming back?" asked Gus.

"Bigger…" replied Cletus.

"Auntie Roon coming back?" asked Gus.

"No, bigger…" replied Cletus.

"Britney Spears not coming back at all?" asked Gus.

"Not that big…" answered Cletus.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The grandfather clock in the den rang out one chime…

High noon…

"Well…" said June. "It's…"

And then, a flame appeared in the fireplace.

"I'm really hoping you did that…" said June.

"Afraid not…" said Ah-Mah. "But… This has only happened twice before, but I think I remember this guy…"

The flames turned blue, and then coalesced into something that vaguely resembled a face.

"Hello again, Jasmine," said a haunting voice. "You have aged well…"

"Ho boy…" said Ah-Mah. "Juniper Lee, meet Zordamalos."

"Uh… hi…" muttered June. "Who…"

"He's the Voice of the Elders," said Ah-Mah. "He speaks for them when they have to converse with others, because they're too aloof to do it themselves!"

"Now, Jasmine…" said Zordamalos. "They have their reasons. And I come bringing important business. You got the letter, I hope…"

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Jasmine. "What do I care about some silly old conjurer?"

"Anthony was not 'some silly old conjurer'," said Zordamalos. "He was far more powerful than you think. Or he was up to fifteen years ago.

"In fact, he was the Sorcerer Supreme…"

Ah-Mah paused.

"What's the Sorcerer Supreme?" asked June.

"It's a role similar to the Te Xuan Ze," said Ah-Mah, "but while the Great Protector is a… protector, the Sorcerer Supreme takes a more offensive stance. He doesn't wait for magical crisis to come… He seeks them out and stops them before they start."

"Indeed," said Zordamalos. "And unlike the Te Xuan Ze, it is not an inherited position. A new candidate must be chosen when an old Sorcerer dies. Now, Anthony has passed on, and frankly, it is just as well. He was very old, and for fifteen years, he was Sorcerer in name only. We truly did not have one… But his title simply could not be taken from him and given to another.

"But now a new Sorcerer Supreme can be chosen…

"Or rather, in this case, a Sorceress…"

"I can already tell you," said Ah-Mah, "I'm not interested. I'm retired, and I simply can't…"

"I know, I know, Jasmine," said Zordamalos. "You are retired, and far too old to take the title. Forty years ago, it might have been possible.

"I never intended to make the offer to you Jasmine…

"I'm making it to your granddaughter."

June's eyes opened in shock…

"ME?" she shouted.

"Hold… on…" said Ah-Mah, "let me say something here…"

She stared at the fiery visage.

"First of all, no one has held both the title of Te Xuan Ze and Sorcerer Supreme at the same time for seven centuries!

"Second, I really do not want to burden June more than she has already! Why are you even considering her anyway? There must be magic users more powerful…"

"Are there?" asked Zordamalos. "I've personally followed June's career, Jasmine, and so have my employers. Do you realize that her magical ability grows at a rate that continues to accelerate? Right now, her magical power is three-hundred percent what it was only one year ago!

"And she has potential that seems limitless. I predict that in only two years, she will be stronger than you ever were…

"June has the potential to be the greatest Te Xuan Ze who ever lived, and if her strength was augmented with the title of Sorceress Supreme, a new era could be ushered in where the World of Magic would be completely safe from dark forces… And quite possibly it would lead to peace."

"Don't I get a say in this?" shouted June.

"Of course you do," answered Zordamalos. "It would be completely up to you, Juniper. Only the candidate herself can accept or refuse…"

"Really?" asked June.

She paused. She turned her back to him.

"Well, before I answer, I have to say that being Te Xuan Ze never did wonders for my life. I take it I still won't be able to share this with Jodie, Ophelia, or anyone else who can't see the World of Magic?"

"I'm afraid not," said Zordamalos. "But there is one tremendous benefit…"

June looked at him.

"I know the part of your position that causes you the most pain, Juniper Lee…" said Zordamalos. "The part that continually gnaws at your soul…"

She stared at him.

"The barrier," he said.

He gave him a look, and then looked away again.

"It pains you to no end, doesn't it?" asked Zordamalos. "The bond which forbids you from ever leaving Orchid Bay. At least until you pass your title to an offspring."

"A cruel joke…" muttered June.

"I agree," said Zordamalos. "You think it isn't fair, and I agree with that too. I can only say that life is not always fair…

"However…

"The Sorcerer Supreme must operate on a global scale. He or she could never function if confined to one city."

"Well then," said June, shrugging. "Guess I don't have a choice… I have to decline…"

"No, Juniper, that's not how it works…" he said.

June slowly turned around.

"Are you saying…" she said, starting to tremble.

"If you held both positions," said Zordamalos, "the barrier would be ineffective.

"You'd be free. You could leave Orchid Bay whenever you pleased."

June sat on a couch and held her head.

"I need a minute to take this in…" she muttered.

She held her head.

"What's the catch?" she asked.

Ah-Mah sighed.

"The position isn't easily won, June," she said. "A candidate is tested. And it isn't a written test.

"Unfortunately, the tests change with each new Sorcerer. No one can predict them."

"I can assure you, June, that you would not suffer if you failed," said Zordamalos. "If that happened, you'll just be the same as you are now…

"But I do not believe you will fail. As I said, you are powerful… You will prevail."

June looked at him.

"Can I have a night to think about it?" she asked.

"Very well," said Zordamalos. "When you wish to give me your answer, simply say my name. I can hear you wherever I am."

He and the rest of the fire vanished into a burst of flame.

"Ah-Mah…" said June.

"June…" she answered. "For once, this is out of my league…"

She held her by the arms.

"For once in your life, youmay choose your own destiny… Make the right choice…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Sorceress Supreme?" shouted Monroe. "Great, McGregor's ghost! This is the biggest thing since the Lord of Dark Magic raised Cthulu!"

"Cthulu is real?" asked June.

She was looking though a book.

"Not the one yer thinking of," answered Monroe. "Cthulu must have been a popular name among giant monstrosities. But still! What would I do? I mean, I've been the advisor for the Te Xuan Ze for over three-hundred years, but if you became the Sorceress Supreme…"

"I'm sure we'd get a second advisor," said June. "You'll just have to cooperate. Besides… I haven't said yes yet…"

Monroe looked at the book she was looking at.

"Why are you studying banishment spells?" he asked. "You know every banishment spell there is! If you went to a magic college, you'd major in banishment spells!"

"There's one I've never cast…" muttered June, as she turned to page three-hundred and forty-two.

"Ah, yes…" said Monroe, somberly. "The Spell of Eternal Banishment… The most powerful one there is. And the worst punishment that the Te Xuan Ze has the authority to inflict on someone.

"It's an absolute last resort…. A guarantee that neither you nor anyone else will ever have to deal with the convicted creature again…"

June read the description.

"Only use on the following offenders…" she read.

"Magical creatures who attempt or plan large-scale invasions of the World of Humans…

"Magical creatures who commit Class-A crimes at least three times…

"Magical creatures who have escaped banishment before completing their sentences at least five times…"

"Anyone who has used this spell on someone who did not qualify as an offender that this spell could be used on."

She read the instructions for the spell. She could do it, certainly, but…

"Monroe, where exactly does this send a creature?"

"Folks call it the Void," said Monroe, ominously. "Truthfully, no one knows what's there. That's the whole point… No one who goes there can ever come back…

"Due to the properties of this place, portals that lead in are possible, but portals that lead out… aren't.

"And be careful, lass… The Elders have strict rules. To send someone there, he has to meet one of those conditions…

"As you can clearly see from the fourth condition, if you send anyone else there…

"You'll be sent there yourself…"

"Hey, don't worry," said June, closing the book. "I'm not even sure if I could…

"I mean… Sending anyone to eternal darkness… Lost, forever in some void… I don't think I could pass such a sentence."

"The Te Xuan Ze seldom has to," said Monroe with a nod. "I knew your grandma for her whole career… She only had to truly use it once, and that was on a demon who used mind control to make humans his slaves."

June sighed.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was nine PM.

June looked up ahead of her on the lonely street…

The sign above her said, "Now Leaving Orchid Bay. Have A Nice Day".

She didn't come here often. Once or twice a year at most. But sometimes she had to come to make certain it was still there.

She held out her hands and reached forward.

Sure enough, they pressed into the barrier…

…the barrier that held the Te Xuan Zeinside the town she protected.

This town was her jurisdistion... And it was her prison.

She sat down by the side of the road.

Taking on a second responsibility would be a big job. She was a protector… And now someone wanted her to do more? To go looking for trouble when it hadn't struck yet?

It would be more of a burden…

And yet…

She looked down the road. She so much wanted to walk down that road and see what was beyond the bend…

To be free…

She actually could go to Harvard if she could leave the city. She could see things she never saw before…

At that moment, the dream she had five years ago of being an astronaut came back to surface from the spot she had buried it… It rekindled… And then became a white-hot fire.

"What have I got to lose?" she asked herself. "I've got nothing to lose…

"And I've got a whole world to gain…"

She stood up.

"Zordamalos," she said.

In a burst of flame, the fiery, blue face appeared in front of her.

"Uh, hi!" she said. "Hope I didn't drag you away from something important…"

"Do not concern yourself with such matters," said the being.

"Anyway," said June, "I… I accept…"

Zordamalos made a slight smile. It was a weak smile, as if it hurt his face to smile.

June guessed that he didn't smile very often.

"Very well," he said. "Then I will complete the last part of my task… First I will supply you with information.

"Sometime in the next week, a guide will appear. A magical creature whose identity and species will be kept secret until it appears. It will be the only one who is allowed to help you during the test. Keep prepared, for it may arrive at any time next week.

"This creature will explain the rules of the test. But I am allowed to explain one part – the test is broken into seven smaller tests."

"Seven?" asked June.

"A lucky number, is it not?" asked Zordamalos. "Now, I have a gift from my employers…"

A glowing orb floated forward, and it hovered over June's hand.

It formed into what looked like a stiff necklace.

"Uh… it looks pretty," said June, "but…"

"Put it on," ordered Zordamalos. "I'll explain."

June shrugged, and then fastened it around her neck.

"The true form of this device will stay concealed until the whole test has passed," explained Zordamalos. "It looks like a necklace now, but at each stage of the test, it will change into a different object.

"I must leave you now… Hopefully, the next time we meet, I will address the Sorceress Supreme…"

He vanished in a burst of flame.

June sighed.

She turned and started to walk back home.

**0**

**0**

**0**

**MONSTER MAXIM**

**Messenger Genie**

**Rarity: **Rare

**Place of Origin: **Saudi Arabia

**Magical Class: **2

**Alliance: **Time

**Average Height: **4'11"

**Average Weight: **Weightless

**Maximum Age: **3,000 years

**Powers: **Can fly at 250 MPH. Never drops anything it is holding. Limitless stamina. Can command the wind and air, using it offensively and defensively.

**Limitations: **Suffers from claustrophobia. Gets nervous indoors, and panics if forced below ground.

**Profile: **A messenger genie is a type of genie who was literally born to deliver messages. If a magical creature wants a message delivered in a hurry, he hires one of these creatures.

Messenger genies are completely dedicated to their job. Once they are given a letter or parcel, they fly at full speed to the recipient, not stopping for anything. If they must fly halfway around the world to do a job, that is what they will do. They only have one condition – they will not deliver to a subterranean location. Messenger genies are pacifists who will never start a fight, but they would sooner die than surrender a message to anyone but the proper recipient, and with their incredible speed, they can easily flee danger.

One would think that these creatures could profit by congregating and forming their own delivery businesses, but strangely, they are never found in groups. More than one magical creature has suggested staffing the whole post office with messenger genies, but there aren't nearly enough. Still, when the World of Magic needs same-day delivery, this is the best option.

**0**

**0**

**0**

_**Coming up next: June spends some quality time with her peers before receiving a strange visitor. Then the test begins, and once June is into it, she must wonder… Are the gods laughing at her? What strange system is this? The chapter is "Wonderland", and it's coming soon.**_


	3. Wonderland: Test of Childhood

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**Chapter Three**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Wonderland: The Test of Childhood**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

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"What the blazes do ya mean I can't help you?" shouted Monroe. "I've been the advisor for the Te Xuan Ze line for the past three centuries!"

"But not for this job," answered June, as she changed her shirt. "You yourself said that you know nothing about this test."

"So what am I supposed to do when this new guy comes to guide you?" he asked. "Sit here and eat dog food?"

As if on cue, Ray-Ray came into the room carrying a bowl of dog food.

"Here you go Monroe," he said. "I did something that the vet said would make your fur shiny. I mixed a raw egg into your dinner."

"Eh… Doesn't _that _sound appetizing…" muttered Monroe.

"Look Monroe," said June, putting on her jacket, "I don't have to rely on you for everything. And if this works out, you may not be enough.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Where are you off to?" he asked.

"Ophelia is performing at the Blue Moon tonight," she answered. "We promised we'd come to listen.

"Let me know if the sky starts falling."

"Very funny…" answered Monroe.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"So…" said Roger, looking at the menu, "what are you going to order?"

"Not sure…" muttered Jodie. "Is there anything in this place that doesn't come served with cheese melted all over it? It must be awfully hard to wash the plates."

"Don't concentrate on the food, people," cautioned June. "Ophelia has been working hard, and we have to give her support."

That they did. Ophelia had long insisted that she couldn't sing, but about two years ago, she had picked up a guitar, and it started to come naturally. Her music tended to be hauntingly beautiful, although she had yet to actually compose anything. She kept saying that she was looking for inspiration.

She had just recently gotten a summer job as a waitress-slash-performer at this small music café, and it was going well.

"Hey, just give us the nachos," said June to the waiter. "A large platter."

"Attention everyone," said the man at the piano. "Good evening, and welcome. The Blue Moon café is now proud to present our newest young talent… Miss Ophelia Rameriz."

The spotlight fell on the stage, where Ophelia was seated on a plain stool, her guitar in her lap. Her sense of style hadn't changed much in the past five years – same punk/Goth ensemble, although the years had made her blossom, giving her curves and an enchanting aura. June often wondered what would happen if she could perceive the World of Magic… She'd likely fit right in.

Ophelia's eyes were closed. She started to play a low tune, and the enchanting words of the old song flowed from her mouth…

_**Hello darkness, my old friend,  
I've come to talk with you again,  
Because a vision softly creeping,  
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,  
And the vision that was planted in my brain  
Still remains…  
Within the sound of silence. **_

In restless dreams I walked alone…  
Narrow streets of cobblestone,  
Beneath the halo of a street lamp,  
I turned my collar to the cold and damp,  
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of  
A neon light…  
That split the night,  
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw  
Ten thousand people, maybe more.  
People talking without speaking,  
People hearing without listening,  
People writing songs that voices never share  
And no one dared…  
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools, said I, you do not know…  
Silence like a cancer grows.  
Hear my words that I might teach you,  
Take my arms that I might reach you.  
But my words like silent raindrops fell,  
And echoed…  
In the wells… of silence.

And the people bowed and prayed  
To the neon god they made.  
And the sign flashed out its warning,  
In the words that it was forming.  
And the sign said: The words of the prophets  
Are written on the subway walls,  
And tenement halls.  
And whispered… in the sounds… of silence.

The music slowly stopped. Ophelia's eyes had never opened.

The crowd applauded. She got up and stepped off the stage.

"Ophelia!" shouted Roger. "You were great as always! You doing anything Friday night?"

"Why don't we not and say we did, Roger," muttered Ophelia.

"Uh… that's better than nothing, I guess…" replied Roger. "Can we say I kissed you?"

"If we can also say I slapped you," she answered.

"Ophelia, we have to get you into some serious jobs," said Jodie. "My aunt works for a guy whose sister is a talent agent…"

Ophelia started picking at the nachos.

"I can't afford an agent, Jodie," she said. "Elvis didn't get started that way. He was discovered by the guy who became his manager when he was working in a place like this."

"So you're going to hope for opportunity to walk in the door?" asked Jodie.

"Dunno," said Ophelia. "How am I going to get started? As an opening act? No one takes them seriously…"

"I went to the Tempest Fury concert last month," said June, giggling. "Their opening act was better than they were! I mean come on… Only their clothes were louder than they were!"

"I saw them too," laughed Roger. "They _stank!"_

Out of the corner of her eye, June saw something…

A small, black cat…

…with bat wings.

This was odd. She had never seen a magical creature like this before.

The creature motioned for her to follow, and then walked towards the ladies room.

June took a large swig of her soda.

"Be right back guys," she said. "Gotta powder my nose, so to speak…"

She followed the cat into the room. It leapt up on the sink.

"Uh, hi!" she said. "You need help?"

The cat purred.

"No, I'm here to help you," he said, in a voice that was female, and seemingly youthful. "Call me Fausta, Juniper Lee. I take you haven't many felis demons before…"

"Oh boy…" said June. "Monroe doesn't like you guys…"

"Well June, most folks like me aren't too bright," she continued, "but I'm special. My intellect was enhanced by a wizard who made me his familiar…"

"Familiar…" said June. "That's a magical creature who helps a witch or wizard with added power, right?"

Fausta nodded.

"My master dismissed me, and I was contacted by Zordamalos," she said. "Should you become the Sorceress Supreme, you would benefit from a familiar, and I'd be available…

"Until then, I'll be your guide in your attempt to gain that title. It won't be easy."

"I'm ready…" said June.

"Then meet me in the center of the park tomorrow," said Fausta. "I'll explain the rules there, and the first part of the test will start. The only weapon you are allowed to bring for this test is the Alchemy Glass that you keep in your potion lab. And the necklace, of course.

"I'll meet you then…"

She licked her paws, and then vanished.

_Alchemy Glass? _thought June. _That lets you identify magical plants and herbs…_

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The next morning, June was in the center of the park. A gold-rimmed magnifying glass was tucked into her belt.

"Well, I'm here," she said.

"And I'm glad you are," said Fausta's voice.

June turned and saw him on the ground.

"Listen closely, Te Xuan Ze," she explained, "the road towards earning the title of Sorceress Supreme is a path into a realm that is seven layers deep. At the center is your goal. With each layer comes a test that will determine if you match one quality that you must have to hold this title.

"Once you enter the realm, you must continue until you succeed or fail. Success allows you access into the next layer.

"If that happens, you may return to Orchid Bay before entering it, and rest for up to twenty-four hours, no more. At any point during that time, the necklace, whatever form it is in, can bring you to the next layer.

"As was said, I am the only one allowed to help you.

"The first test is the Test of Childhood. And I will tell you what you need to do to succeed.

"Sometime in the next few minutes, a white rabbit will pass by here. You must catch it, and you have until six PM to do so."

"That's it?" laughed June.

She looked at her watch. Ten AM.

"I'm the Te Xuan Ze! I've caught demons three times as big as myself! I can catch a rabbit."

"I hope so…" said Fausta. "Because there he is!"

June turned and saw a cute, white rabbit hopping past her.

"Chase him!" shouted Fausta. "Chase him! Don't let him get away!"

Feeling rather silly, June ran after the rabbit, only to find that it was _very _fast. It hopped on ahead of her, through the brush, and then over a hedge. June leapt over the hedge…

…and then the ground gave way under her. Before she knew it, she was falling down what looked to be a deep well…

She screamed for a minute, but then she saw that she was falling very slowly. She looked around… There were clocks, shelves, and cupboards on the walls of this well!

An old memory of what had happened to one girl who had recklessly chased a rabbit came back to her… And then she landed with a thump.

She wasn't hurt, and slowly got up.

To her surprise, her clothes had changed! She was wearing an old-fashioned blue and white dress with lace, and formal shoes and stockings. The Alchemy Glass was still in her belt.

She walked and looked around. She was in a long hallway full of doors…

Then she saw the rabbit duck into a very tiny door, and it slammed shut.

June rubbed her chin.

She saw a table in the center of the hall. A golden key and a bottle were on it. Tied to the bottle was a tag that said _Drink Me_.

"I remember how this happened…" said June. "I can't make the same mistake that Alice did in this situation…

"She drank this, and it made her small enough to get through the door, but her mistake was leaving the key on the table where she couldn't reach it once she had.

"So…"

She uncorked it with her thumb and picked up the key.

"I'll drink it with my right hand, while making sure to hold the key in my left!"

She drank the liquid in the bottle… DELICIOUS! It tasted like a blend of flavors (cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast).

Then she felt a strange sensation. She was indeed shrinking.

After a few minutes, she was just the size of the rabbit. She went to the door and unlocked it.

"So why is this a Test of Childhood?" she asked. "I don't get it."

"Worry about that later, June," said Fausta's voice. "Find that rabbit!"

June rushed through the door.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June suddenly knew what the world was like for Sand Pixies.

In the forest she was in, the flowers and mushrooms towered over her. It was hard to see anything.

"Here, bunny," she called. "Here, bunny…"

She knew she sounded ridiculous.

She leapt up, and landed on a large toadstool.

"Maybe I should try to get back to my right size," she said. "Now how did Alice manage that?"

She thought.

"The Caterpillar's mushroom," she pondered. "Maybe I have to find him…"

Then a group of smoke rings started floating towards her.

She jumped from one toadstool to another, in the direction of the smoke rings, finally coming within view of what appeared to be her goal. A large caterpillar (large to her) was sitting on one of the mushrooms, smoking the famous hookah.

"Heh, heh," he chuckled. "Best watch yourself up there, young lady. There isn't mush room!"

He laughed.

"Uh, I'm looking for a rabbit…" she said.

"You should be more interested in growing mushrooms," said the Caterpillar.

"I don't know how to grow mushrooms," she replied.

"You don't need to grow mushrooms," he said. "I mean growing mushrooms. The kind of mushrooms you eat, and then you grow!"

He laughed again.

"But be careful," he said. "These mushrooms have two sides. One makes you grow, one makes you shrink. You wouldn't want to get any smaller now, would you?"

June jumped off the mushroom and went over to his.

She thought for a minute. The mushroom was completely round, and nothing differentiated the two sides.

"It ain't this mushroom, young lady," said the caterpillar.

He pointed towards a small cave opening nearby.

"Go in there, but be careful… I hope you can run fast."

June walked to the cave opening and peeked her head in.

She started to walk down a long tunnel…

Then she heard a loud rumbling…

She turned and saw a huge marble rolling towards her!

She ran forward, as the huge boulder chased her. Down the corridor, she ran ahead of the huge trap…

She ran towards a deep pit. Not having time to think, she leapt over it…

She landed on the other side, and the marble fell into the pit.

She wiped her brow, and looked at where she had landed. Two large mushrooms, one red, and one blue, were in front of her.

_Which one? _she thought. _I don't want to shrink even smaller…_

Then it hit her. She took the alchemy glass from her belt, and looked at the blue one through it…

It was a variety called pixie foot.

She looked though it at the red one.

This one was giant's foot. She had used that in the ill-fated potion that she had meant to give to the Tiny Giant. In all likelihood, it was a growing mushroom.

She smiled as she picked them.

Perfect. Now she could control her height. She was about to taste the red one…

"Wait…" she said.

She looked around. This cavern wasn't too big…

"That was close…" she said. "It might be a trap… Maybe only one of them works, and if I made myself bigger in here, I'd be trapped in this cave."

She picked them up, and leapt over the gap again, then she made her way out of the cave.

Finally, she chanced to take a bite from the red one. Slowly, she started to grow to her normal height…

…and the blue one disintegrated.

"Good job, June," said Fausta's voice. "Now find that rabbit! The necklace will help you."

The necklace glowed, and June felt a compulsion to run in one direction.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

After a long run into the forest, she saw the rabbit. It was running towards a large structure.

"I gotcha!" shouted June.

Then a voice shouted at her.

"Stop where you are, Te Xuan Ze!" ordered a voice.

She turned and saw four strange creatures. They looked like playing cards – one hearts, one spades, one clubs, and one diamonds, each carrying spears.

"No one is to pass," said the diamond one, "by order of the Queen of Hearts."

June grinned.

"Fighting bad guys?" asked June. "Now this I can handle…"

The necklace around her neck glowed… It melted into an orb of light…

And then, before she knew it, she was holding a weapon that looked like a croquet stick!

"Neat!" she said.

She turned to the card guards.

"I'm gonna get that rabbit," she said, "and you guys aren't gonna stop me! Come and get me!"

They looked at each other…

"Get her!" shouted one of them.

"Crud…" said June.

Then they charged at her spears first!

"Time to fold the cards," said June.

She kicked the club one, and he fell to the ground with an "Oof!"

She swung the croquet stick at the spade one, knocking his spear from his hand, and then sending him sprawling.

Then she made a mighty swing, and the other two toppled over.

"Well, that was…" she started.

And then she was shocked, as an axe came swinging towards her. She quickly dodged.

The weapon was held by a hulking ace of spades with an executioner's mask. He glared at her…

She wasn't going to give him time to think about it. She punched him in the stomach...

"Heh, heh…" he chuckled. "Heh, heh, heh, heh!"

He swung the axe forward, and she blocked with the croquet stick. Then she struck him in the face with her heel.

The blows went back and forth.

"Don't make me slap you, Jack!" snarled June.

She slugged him in the stomach with the stick, and he gasped.

Then he clobbered him over the head.

That seemed to do the job. He fell over.

She saw the rabbit sitting right behind him…

She lunged, and grabbed it.

"Gotcha!" she laughed. "And with plenty of time to spare!"

Before she knew it, she was back in the park, and Fausta was in her arms. Her clothes were back to normal. The necklace was back around her neck.

"Good work June," she said. "Did you have fun?"

"Well…" said June, "yeah, kind off… I always wanted to take a trip into Wonderland."

"Then you are off to a good start," replied the felis. "Remembering your childhood and reliving it is something that you must always be able to do. That little trip into your imagination, where you did much better than Alice did, was doing just that.

"Go and rest… Spend the evening with your friends again, if you please. At any time in the next twenty-four hours, you may enter the portal to the next level. Simply let me know.

"When you do, you may bring one weapon, no more. The necklace will provide the rest of your defense for the next challenge. I warn you, what happens next will not be pleasant."

And then she vanished.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

One hour later, June was listening to Ophelia perform again at the Blue Moon.

_**I once met a girl who sang the blues,**_

_**I asked her for some happy news,**_

_**But she just smiled and turned away…**_

_**I went down to that sacred store,**_

_**Where I heard the music years before,**_

_**But the man there said the music wouldn't play…**_

_**And in the streets, the children screamed,**_

_**The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,**_

_**But not a word was spoken…**_

_**The church bells all were broken…**_

_**And the three men I admire the most,**_

_**The Father, Son, and The Holy Ghost,**_

_**They took the last train to the coast,**_

_**The day… The music… died…**_

June listened to her sing, and thought of the magic behind the music, the enchantment behind the melody. There was a whole world waiting if she completed this test in the next several days – a whole new world of magic would open up!

"Jodi," she said, stirring her soda, "what are your plans for the future?"

"I want to have a career, get married, start a family," said Jodi. "Basic stuff."

"Don't we all," answered June. "There's so much to do, and so little time…

"You know, I might want to go for the gusto… Go to a good school, get the best job available…"

"Marry Marcus…" said Jodi.

June blushed.

"Don't rush me," she said. "I might not want to get married right away. But what do you do when life proves to be a challenge?"

"Hey, the greater the challenge, the bigger the reward," said Jodi.

June grinned.

"I hope so," she said. "I want the biggest reward I can get, so I guess I have to go for the biggest challenge."

**0**

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**MONSTER MAXIM**

**Felis Demon**

**Rarity: **Rare

**Place of Origin: **France

**Magical Class: **2

**Alliance: **Matter, or as master

**Average Height: **1'8"

**Average Weight: **5 lbs

**Maximum Age: **300 years

**Powers: **Has nine lives. If killed, it is reborn, so long as it has one left. Felis demons who are familiars can supply power to their masters for greater magical power.

**Limitations: **Cannot swim and hate water.

**Profile: **Similar to cats, felis demons are kept as pets by magical creatures, and as familiars by sorcerers. Normal ones are not very impressive. Familiars, however, can fuel the wizard they serve, providing him with more power when he needs it. They are not the only creatures that can act as familiars, but they make good ones.

Felis demons are varied on personality and tastes. They become reflections of their masters, and soon become almost a part of him. Unfortunately, many develop an emotional attachment to their masters, which becomes annoying.

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_**Coming up next: **_

_**June has completed one test, but more are to come. And the next one might be spookier. **_

_**Tune in for "The Cemetery: Test of Purity", coming up soon.**_


	4. The Cemetery: Test of Purity

_Fanfiction fans._

_Sorry about the hiatus. I was watching more episodes, to get more ideas and make sure I didn't contradict._

_But I'm ready now._

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**Chapter Four**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**The Cemetery: The Test of Purity**

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In a tall building off Exit 5 off the Underworld Express, on the top floor, two creatures were sitting in front of a desk.

They looked to be about June's age… One was male, and the other was female, and they had the features of sixteen-year-olds… aside from the blue skin, purple hair, horns, and bat-like wings on their backs. Their clothing was also typical of teenage human attire. The demon-girl wore a midriff and shorts, while the male wore dungarees and a jean jacket.

On the other side of the desk was a larger figure looking over a set of application papers.

"Well, let's see…" he muttered. "Kandy and Randy, was it? You seem to have good references as saboteurs… Worked for Tomas the Terrible, I see…"

"We've also done a few good assassination jobs," said the male. "We kidnapped the Gnome King for the Goblin Chieftain… But when he didn't pay us…"

"Goblins are cheapskates," said the interviewer. "I assure you that the job I'm thinking of might be tricky…"

"Aw, how hard can one girl be?" asked the female. "I mean, aren't you strong enough to handle her yourself?"

The figure put the papers down, revealing a bald head with yellow skin and pointed teeth. He was dressed in fancy armor and a cape.

He leaned his head on his hands and sighed. He remembered his first and thus far only encounter with the Te Xuan Ze…

It ended with her landing a blow to his stomach, causing him to literally cough up the Goblet of Nestir…

Followed by a cruel taunt from the young warrior:

"Didn't your mommy teach you? It's important to always chew your food!"

Followed by a threat that he couldn't ignore:

"Now if you ever, _ever _go near my family again, they're gonna need a 10th-level locator spell just to find what's left of you… Dork…"

He sighed again.

"Let's just say my first encounter with her isn't something I want to repeat," he said. "She's stronger now…

"And if she inherits the title of Sorceress Supreme, disposing of her will be nigh impossible.

"I need you two to prevent it. Make her trials more deadly… Ensure that she doesn't survive…"

He tossed a bag over the table.

"As promised, this is the advance. You get the rest upon completion."

Kandy and Randy looked inside and their hearts skipped a beat. They'd be able to retire on this job alone!

"She won't know what hit her…" said Kandy.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June opened the secret door in the back of her closet. She had to meet with Fausta in three hours, so she had to make a decision.

The felis had said one weapon… Looking into her arsenal, there were so many to choose from.

Her armor was there – something she hadn't used often, and would need to have refitted soon – as were numerous arms, wands, and magical paraphernalia.

Her eyes fell on one particular weapon…

The Staff of Wu-Shu. The traditional weapon of the Te Xuan Ze. Ah-Mah had given it to her when she was twelve, and had mastered staff fighting. She didn't use it often, only for the most severe threats, but she had to admit…

…she loved using it. When she held it, she felt more power than ever.

She picked it up and looked at it. Fausta didn't say she couldn't use this…

June sighed. No, it was too important to use for a test.

She picked up a slim sword in a sheath. She guessed that would be enough…

Her cell phone rang.

"Yeah?" she said, answering it.

"Hi, June?" said Marcus's voice.

"Marcus?" asked June, perking up. "Hi… What's up?"

"Look, June…" said Marcus. "Uh…"

_He's going to ask me out…_ thought June, smiling. _He's always like this before he does…_

"June, look…" he said. "My parents are going to Aruba next Friday, and I'm going to be alone. I was wondering… Would you like to go to that rib joint next Friday night?"

June paused.

_Next Friday night… _she thought. _I'll be Sorceress Supreme by then…_

_Unless I fail…_

She thought for a minute.

"Uh, Marcus…" she said. "Remember how you told me you were saving up to take me to La Maison Rouge one of these days?"

"Uh, yeah…" said Marcus.

La Maison Rouge was the best restaurant in town. In fact, it was Orchid Bay's only five-star.

"Well…" said June, "do you have enough saved yet? Because I might want to take you up on that."

"Well, I have enough…" said Marcus, surprised. "I have plenty. But… I was saving that for a special occasion."

"Well Marcus…" said June. "I might, just might have an occasion special enough… I'll tell you then."

"Well… sure…" said Marcus. "Guess I should make reservations…"

"I'll see you then," said June.

_A very special occasion, _she thought, strapping the sword on her back. _I'll finally be free, and the rest of the world will open up…_

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June felt a little self-conscious walking down the street with a sword strapped to her back, even if her spell did cloak it from onlookers. She was a little nervous about it, as she was with anything that was a real weapon.

And old proverb that a Te Xuan Ze likely invented went, _If a warrior is to draw his sword, he must be prepared to take a life, and live with what comes next._

Some folks took this the wrong way. They figured they should shun swords and carry less deadly weapons.

The Te Xuan Ze knew that there was no such thing. If a weapon couldn't kill, it wasn't truly a weapon. End of story.

The role of the Great Protector had become overhauled in modern times. Since the world of humans and the world of magic were now separate, they could show a great deal more mercy than they used to. That was why June preferred using her fists most of the time, and always had a banishment crystal handy…

She wondered if such things could continue if she took the new role…

She walked into the center of the park.

"Okay, Fausta, where are you?" she called.

"Right here," said the demon's voice.

June realized that the creature had appeared right on her head.

"Uh… Would you mind not doing that?" she asked.

"Sorry…" said Fausta, hopping down. "I am part cat, you know…

"Anyway, ready to enter the second circle?"

"Ready as I'll ever be…" said June.

Fausta looked at the sword on her back.

"Not a bad choice…" she said. "But you need something else…"

She waved her paw, and the necklace around June's neck started to glow, changing shape.

June looked at it. It had changed into a golden cross on a chain.

"Now then…" said Fausta.

The air shimmered, and in a few seconds, they were on the street…

In front of them were the gates of Orchid Bay Cemetery.

"Listen close, Juniper Lee," she said. "Being the Sorcerer Supreme requires someone whose spirit and soul is pure. Now, you have a lot going for you on this… Despite your sarcastic wit, you are young, nubile. And you have yet to be poisoned by the impurities that plague many."

She pointed to the gates.

"Your job is to enter the cemetery and emerge through the rear gates."

"That's all?" said June. "Any time limit?"

"No…" said Fausta. "You have as long as you need. But beware…"

She paused.

"Your trek through there won't be met with no resistance. Someone you know from the past is in there, and is expecting you.

"And you won't be able to count on your bracelet to warn you of danger.

"Now take some deep breaths and enter… I'll be waiting on the other side.

"Oh, by the way, better let me hold your cell phone."

June looked confused. She took her cell and handed it to her.

Then she held her chest and walked towards the gates.

She had to wonder who was in there. Skeeter Khommen-Ghetit? That jerk had given her so much trouble…

And there were so many others who might be hiding in that place… She'd fought her share of vampires over the years…

As she entered, she was surprised as the gates slammed shut…

Looking around, the day had turned to night. The sky was overcast and grim.

Even worse, the finely-made headstones had changed, turning into ugly, derelict tombstones covered with moss. The monuments had been changed from lovely seraphims to hideous demons.

"I get it…" she muttered. "This isn't Orchid Bay Cemetery… That gate was a portal that transported me here…

"Only question is… Where is 'here'?"

She looked around.

"Okay…" she thought. "If this place is some reflection of the one in Orchid Bay, the rear gate should be four-hundred yards straight that way, as the crow flies…"

She heard a cacophony of squeaks and squawks…

She covered her head, as a swarm of bats flew over her head!

"Or some other flying animal…" she muttered. "Take it slowly…"

She started to walk, slowly looking around. A chill crept into her bones…

A ghastly shape crept behind her!

June reacted just in time. She spun around and kicked the vile thing, sending it flying backwards.

She looked at it.

_A zombie? _she thought.

She took a closer look.

No…

Zombies, like the kind Khommen-Ghetit used to staff that dumb waffle-house were relatively harmless. She could tell by the sharp teeth and filthy, claw-like fingernails that she had been ambushed by a ghoul…

Ghouls… Disgusting, evil creatures with unholy hunger. She remembered dealing with them when she was fourteen, and narrowly averted…

No…

Was _she _here?

June drew her sword and tried to hard to remember where she had banished that spook. There were so many monsters who she had done away with like that… One of these days, she was going to start keeping a logbook.

She started walking through the dark cemetery. It was like a maze. The layout clearly wasn't the same as the one she was used to…

As she was considering where to go next, two more ghouls burst out of the ground!

"Boy…" she said, "someone's in need of some skin moisturizer…"

They leapt at her, and she made two slashes with the blade.

They were blasted into dust.

She coughed from the cloud it had formed, and didn't see another one come up behind her…

She shrieked as she was grabbed in a lock.

"Since when did you guys learn strategy?" she snarled.

She threw her head back, and head-butted it. It let go.

"I mean, usually, you don't do anything more than groan and charge."

She made a slash, and it disintegrated.

"I'm wasting my time talking to these mold-brains…" she muttered.

The cross around her neck started to glow.

She looked around, and dark shapes started to rise around her.

"You worm-nests want me?" she dared. "Come and get me!"

"Get her!" shouted one of them.

"Oh darn…" she said.

She really had to stop saying that…

She ran forward, cutting a path with her blade, taking out two of them, but the others ran after her.

"Awfully fast for guys with rotting leg muscles…" she muttered.

She kind of regretted not bringing the Staff of Wu-Shu now…

She paused…

In front of her was a pathway, flanked by several demonic statues, their eyes watching the path.

_That, _was a dead giveaway.

She took a deep breath, and ran between them, as she expected, beams of energy flashed from their eyes. She dodged one burst, then another…

But she wasn't lucky enough to dodge the third.

She pulled herself to her feet, aching from the sides of her ribs where the blasts had hit.

She looked up. A fancy but grim mausoleum was in front of her, with hideous images on it.

She looked at it for a minute…

In the next instant, they had her.

The force knocked her down, and her sword was torn from her. Then twenty ghouls pinned her to the ground, four pinning each limb, and four holding her torso.

She tried to struggle, but it was pointless.

_So now what? _she thought. _I'm not enough for twenty of them to share… There must be something else…_

One of the ghouls grabbed her hair and lifted her head up, and she saw the door to the mausoleum open…

From out of the tomb came a beautiful, but evil-looking woman. Her hair was dark, and her skin was pale. She was dressed in a low-cut, tight dress, colored black and showing a great deal of thigh.

This wasn't a common ghoul. This was a true ghoul, a demon who could create other ghouls.

And June was well-acquainted with this one.

"Hello, Myna," she said. "I see you did a good job keeping your ghoulish figure. Where am I?"

"Why, the very place you banished me, Juniper Lee," said Myna. "And it's been boring. All I've been able to do is create common ghouls from the corpses in this graveyard prison.

"I've so wanted to have someone like me to keep me company, but to do that, I needed to transform a living human.

"And since I have one now…"

She grinned.

"No!" shouted June, as the ghouls dragged her to her feet.

"Seal her up, my slaves," said Myna. "Let the power of the grave infuse her with undeath!"

June looked in horror as she was dragged to a coffin next to a fresh grave…

She screamed as the beasts forced her inside it, and then slammed the lid shut!

June tried to pry it open, but it was quickly sealed closed. After a minute of struggling, she stopped…

She knew how true ghouls created more of their own. She was likely being buried six feet under right now, so that Myna could cast her unholy rituals.

Tears formed in her eyes. Was it going to end now?

Then the cross around her neck glowed.

_Do you give up? _said a voice. _Myna is a creature of death and decay, but you are life and vigor, Juniper Lee. Focus all your inner light to break free and defeat her…_

_If your purity cannot defeat what is impure, you will rot in that grave. _

June thought for a few seconds. Fight with purity… She could do that… Maybe she just had to think of her own purity…

…if she just kept calm. That was the ticket.

_Yeah, _she thought. _Easier said then done when you're locked in a coffin. Okay, focus… Purity…_

She thought back to when she was young, before she became the Te Xuan Ze, and she was just a child with no cares…

She thought about her formal initiation as the Te Xuan Ze, when her grandmother passed the mantle to her…

She remembered the many times magical creatures had looked up to her as their protector…

And then…

She remembered her fight with Kai-Yee, when he tempted her with the power of the Elders, and she refused him.

Light over darkness… Good over evil… No taint existed within her. In every inner struggle, the light in her always came through. Even when she almost gave up and turned over her job to Ashley, she knew in her heart that she just wanted to blow off some steam for a day or two…

The cross glowed with golden fire. With one mighty surge of strength, she threw her arms upward, and burst out of the ground!

She leapt up, in a burst of dirt, and saw Myna. She threw herself at the true ghoul!

Myna was shocked, and unprepared for the volley of punches that slammed into her.

The true ghoul staggered back, but eventually, June realized she wasn't doing much. You couldn't really hurt the undead with your fists, even if you were super-strong.

Myna staggered back a little stunned, and June considered her options. Myna was already banished here, so that wasn't an option, and June didn't have what she needed with her to do away with her for good…

She reasoned that the best bet would simply be to escape.

"Thanks for the great time, Myna," said June. "Let's NOT do this again."

She grabbed her sword, and ran in the direction of where she hoped the exit was.

Myna got angry. She raised her arms, and tombstones flew at June. She made three leaps, and they crashed into each other.

June could now see the exit. It was two-hundred feet in front of her. She started to run…

…and then the ground started to rumble… and come alive! In front of June, a huge creature made of earth, bones, tombstones, and mold, in the vague shape of a man, loomed in front of her!

"I give you eight points for originality, and seven for delivery," said June.

The grave beast lunged, trying to flatten June with its fist. She dodged aside, and it hit the ground, causing the ground to shake. With one swipe of her sword, the arm was lopped off, and crumbled to pieces.

Then she frowned, as it quickly grew another.

June stepped back and considered. She had fought earth elementals before… She had only heard references to grave elementals, which were basically a variant on earth elementals. The main difference was, instead of the material being possessed by an elemental spirit, it was possessed by some evil spirit.

Still, she wagered that it was similar to any other elemental – strong, but not very bright.

The grave elemental lumbered towards her, and lunged with its fist again.

June got worried as she dodged aside. The longer she played with this thing, the longer Myna was able to rally her forces.

She noticed a very large headstone next to her. She wondered how heavy it was…

Guess she'd find out.

She gripped the headstone with both hands and lifted…

Answer: _Very _heavy.

Straining, she lifted it over her head…

…and when the elemental lunged at her again, she threw it, smashing the thing into pieces of dirt and bone shards!

She panted for breath. She wondered if that destroyed it for good…

Then she realized she'd best not stay around to find out. Angry cries were shouting from behind. She ran for the exit…

She dove out of the gates…

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

When she looked up, the sun was shining, and she was on the grassy lawn outside the Orchid Bay Cemetery.

The cross had turned back into a necklace.

"How do you feel?" asked Fausta's voice.

June sat up.

"Uh, well…" she said, looking at her dirty hair and clothes. "I could use a shower or twelve… Eesh… I can't believe I forced my way out of a grave…"

"A grave that had been sealed with the magic of a true ghoul intent on enslaving you," said Fausta. "I was a little worried a few times. But you passed with flying colors.

"Anyway, now that the second circle is clear, you can enter the third within twenty-four hours again. Here are your instructions.

"Meet me at the amusement park next to the maze. Once again, simply call my name.

"No weapons at all this time. The necklace is all you will need.

"That's all you need to know for now…

"Oh, and Ray-Ray and Monroe want to meet you for ice cream at Sir Splits-a-Lot. Why not wash up and go meet with them?"

She handed back the cell phone.

"Uh… Thanks…" said June. "Maybe I will…"

She shrugged.

"I have been neglecting them a little lately…"

She walked off.

Once she was gone, Fausta's brow furrowed. She gestured, and a cell phone of her own appeared. She hit a call-back.

"Boss?" she said. "I'm getting worried. We should never have sent her to face the real Myna. She could have gotten hurt."

"That's why I put you in charge, Fausta," was the response. "If she proves to be a failure, you can at least prevent her death.

"Some of her opposition in these challenges will be real… Some will be illusions. She must not know which are which. If she does, she might not try harder.

"Now prepare for the Test of Wits. I believe you have some other phone calls to make."

Fausta sighed.

"That I do…" she muttered.

She wanted June to succeed. For a felis demon who had once been a familiar, she was very lonely now that her master had let her go. She needed a new one… badly. And June was an ideal candidate. She was only sixteen… very young. If June took her on, she'd be set for a long time.

But the Te Xuan Ze would have no need for a familiar – she'd only need an advisor for that role, and Monroe had that covered.

The Sorceress Supreme would benefit from one greatly. So Fausta wanted June to succeed…

…she wanted it badly.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Having a younger brother as energetic as Ray-Ray made you jealous at times.

Ray-Ray was just the right age right now where he could pack away practically anything and then burn it off running home. June, like most girls her age, had to watch what she ate – not that she didn't get exercise, but in her line of work at her age, it wouldn't due for junk food to go to her hips.

As she slowly ate a small sundae, Ray-Ray was scarfing the biggest split that the parlor had to offer. She didn't take much notice, but Monroe did.

"Slow down, lad," he said. "You know that when you eat it that fast, you always get a…"

Then Ray-Ray screamed and held his head.

"…brain freeze…" finished June.

"Changing the subject…" said Monroe, as Ray-Ray winced in pain, "word on the grapevine is that you've been seen with a talking cat…"

"Monroe…" muttered June, nervously. "Everything talks around here. It was nothing…"

"June, I've been the advisor for your family for three-hundred and twenty-seven years as of next month," he replied. "You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull a fast one on Monroe Connery Boyd Carlisle McGregor Scott the 5th."

"Besides, don't tell me I can't recognize felis demon hair."

June looked at her jacket.

"Well, I would have had to tell you anyway, Monroe…" she said. "If I pass the test… She'll be joining our team…"

"We're getting a cat?" asked Ray-Ray.

"Know how witches have black cats?" asked June. "It's gonna be like that. Only Fausta is black with wings."

"Swell…" said Monroe, sulking. "I can hardly wait…"

"Monroe, she's smarter than most felis," protested June. "Listen, once the test is over, I'll arrange for you two to get to know each other… And maybe I'll treat the two of you to spaghetti. You know, like in _Lady and the Tramp._

Monroe leaned on his paw… An offer of Italian food was hard to resist…

"Fine…" he said. "But she'd better be housebroken…"

June grinned.

"Won't be a…" she started.

She saw two people enter.

"…problem…"

She was shocked.

It was Ophelia…

With a boy!

The tall, blonde-haired youth had his arm around her, and she was giggling. June had never seen her this happy.

"Ophelia?" said June.

"June, hi!" laughed Ophelia. "I'd like you to meet Loud Howard."

"Uh, hi…" said the youth.

"Where'd you get a nickname like that?" asked June.

"Wait until you hear him play bass guitar, and you'll see why!" laughed Ophelia. "Come on Howard, this place has a hot fudge brownie that I know you'll love."

When June next checked on them, they were kissing.

June took a small notebook out of her pocket.

"Ophelia… check…" she said, making a mark next to Ophelia's name. "Seems our group is coming along nicely."

Monroe nodded.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Outside the ice cream parlor, unseen to human eyes, Kandy and Randy were watching them. Kandy picked up a cell phone.

"Target in sight," she said. "We make our way to the amusement park tomorrow.

"And if the voltergeist is too easy for June, we'll make it harder!"

**Monster Maxim**

**True Ghoul**

**Rarity: **Very Rare

**Place of Origin: **Germany

**Magical Class: **6

**Alliance: **Darkness

**Average Height: **6'2"

**Average Weight: **250 lbs

**Maximum Age: **Immortal, unless killed

**Powers: **Immortality, necromantic and negative energy abilities, skill in sorcery.

**Limitations: **Rendered helpless in sunlight. Cannot enter hallowed ground. Can be killed by concentrated positive energy.

**Profile: **In ages past, true ghouls filled the same roles as wolves, mountain lions, and similar predators, but their prey was humans. When the world of humans and the world of magic started to separate, they refused to accept it, and the Te Xuan Ze was forced to root out the whole race and eliminate them. The most powerful ones who were guilty of bloody atrocities received the sentence of eternal banishment, while lesser ones were tucked away in less secure prisons.

These days, the Great Protectors must be wary. These ravenous creatures are few, but they seek to escape and rebuild their numbers. What their goals are is anybody's guess.

_**Coming up next:**_

**_A special guest appears, as those two saboteurs start making trouble for the new candidate. It's all coming up in "The Maze: Test of Wits"_**


	5. The Maze: Test of Wits

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**Chapter Five**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**The Maze: The Test of Wits**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**0 0 0 0 0**

As June slowly ate breakfast the next morning, she was nervous.

Go into a mission unarmed? With just the clothes on her back? If this was the test that she had to take to become Sorceress Supreme, she wondered what she would have to do when she actually got the job.

She looked at Ray-Ray, and then looked at disgust at what he was eating.

"How can you eat that stuff?" she asked.

"It's cereal.." he said.

"Cereal made of sugar and more chemicals than they have in the biology lab at school," replied June. "I mean look at the milk… It's turned into purple ooze!"

Ray-Ray looked at it.

"Yeah, I guess it is kinda disgusting…" he muttered.

"Then why, pray tell, do you always eat three bowls of it?" she asked.

"For the glow-in-the-dark Boomfist stickers," said Ray-Ray, looking through the box.

"I'm surprised _you _don't glow in the dark by now…" muttered June.

"Another month, and I'll have wallpapered my room!" laughed Ray-Ray, holding up a sticker.

June's cell phone rang. She looked, and saw that it was Jodie.

She answered it.

"Hiya, June," she said. "Hey… Can you come by the Blue Moon again this evening? Ophelia and that new boyfriend of hers are turning the act into a duet."

"I'll see…" said June. "I might be held up… A lot depends on some factors."

"Huh?" asked Jodie.

"I'll try to be there," said June.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

At the amusement park, Fausta was patiently waiting at the entrance to the labyrinth, a maze where the objective was simply to enter the front and exit the back.

She didn't know that Kandy and Randy were watching from a distance.

"Okay…" said Kandy, "let's go over the plan…

"We know that the fleabag is going to use that maze as a focus to open a portal to Lamar's old place, so that June can go in and find her friend."

"Whatever happened to Lamar, anyway?" asked Randy.

"He tried to kidnap some beauty queen ten years ago, and the kid's grandmother beat him up. He hasn't been seen since.

"Anyway… We wait for her to do that, then wait five minutes, use our own portal, get ahead of her…

"And leave her a little present…"

"You sure this is safe?" asked Randy.

"Hey, leave it to your big sister," said Kandy.

At that point, June came jogging up.

"Glad you made it, June," said Fausta. "I'll explain quickly, because time is limited… For you, and a friend of yours…"

"What do you mean?" asked June.

"The door to the maze is a portal," said June. "It leads to another maze in the Underworld that a demon named Lamar used to own. He was banished a long time ago, courtesy of your grandmother, but a voltergeist lives there now."

June searched her head trying to remember if Ah-Mah had ever mentioned anyone named Lamar. The name sounded familiar…

"Great…" said June. "How do I beat a voltergeist with my bare hands?"

"The necklace will help a little," said Fausta, "and I've put some weapons at a few points in the place. You just need to find them and know how to use them right.

"Now, you'd best hurry, because Lila went in there a half-hour ago…"

"LILA?" shouted June. "You sent her in there with a voltergeist?"

"Yes, and you'd best hurry…" said Fausta. "Sooner or later, it will get hungry, and Lila is the only thing in there it can eat."

June gave a furious look at the felis demon and ran towards the door.

She had one thought about what she was going to do to Fausta if Lila got hurt…

Violin strings.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June knew she had to calm down. She looked at the large maze in front of her.

Her necklace glowed, and changed shape…

Then she was holding a sharp, long, golden dagger.

_Huh?_ she thought. _Sharp weapons are no good against voltergeists._

She started to run through the maze, taking the first left turn.

Voltergeists were shapeshifters, who could best be described as creatures made of liquid metal. They could shape or mold themselves into any shape, although they couldn't change their mass.

As she came to an intersection, she looked at the dagger.

She thought for a minute.

Then she realized what it was for. She made a slash on the side of the wall.

That would help her if she came back to this spot.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Kandy and Randy were several hundred feet down the corridor.

Kandy took a glowing green orb from a knapsack and placed it on the ground.

"Be careful!" said Randy. "That thing is dangerous!"

"Not to us," said Kandy. "Magebanes only attack spellcasters. Sorcerers, wizards, witches, soothsayers, folks who study magic. If it saw us, it would see week-old, moldy brussel sprouts…

"But when it sees June, it will see strawberry shortcake ala mode. A tender, sixteen-year-old brimming with magic would be a banquet.

"I kinda feel sorry for her… But hey… the records of the Elders will say that she perished fighting one of the most infamous magical beasts ever to threaten a Te Xuan Ze!"

"How'd we get this orb anyway?" asked Randy.

"The internet," said Kandy. "It was hard – even owning this violates three of the Elder's Class B laws, so I had to look hard. But don't worry, Maret said he'd pay all the expenses. We just have to send him the bill when it comes.

"Quick, she's coming…"

The two faded into the wall as June came running up.

She stopped short when she saw the orb. A look of fear crossed her face.

Slowly, she inched her way around it…

And then she ran away from it at full speed.

Kandy and Randy faded back out of the wall.

"O-kay…" said Kandy, picking it up. "Plan-B…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June was shaken as she continued. Ah-Mah had warned her about those orbs. She had told her never to touch one, lest a magebane be trapped inside.

A magebane was best described as a huge spider (except it only had four legs), but while it didn't need to eat often, it had a finicky diet – it would only eat sentient beings who knew the magical arts.

As a result, natural selection had made them resistant to magic. They were hard to hurt with spells.

To make matters worse, they were resilient. Once one sighted a potential meal, it would pursue until its prey was caught (and eaten), the magebane was killed or subdued, or the prey reached a spot where it couldn't follow.

And if the prey was cornered in that spot where it couldn't follow, he was in real trouble, because a magebane had the patience of Job. It would simply wait the victim out. It didn't sleep, and could literally wait for weeks if it had to for a victim to leave a safe place.

Stories were told of poor victims fleeing until they collapsed from exhaustion or taking refuge in caves or trees, only to starve days later.

It was not something that any sorcerer wanted to face.

Fortunately, it only could be freed from that orb if a powerful spellcaster touched it, so she was safe as long as she went nowhere near it.

She had decided at this moment to see if any Chinese restaurants in the Underworld would be interested in Fausta. She didn't care how important this test was. She knew the law. Putting that orb there was crossing the line.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Got to find a weapon…" said June. "But where?"

She looked around as she marked off another corridor.

"Maybe I'll have to do what Kirk did in that old _Star Trek _episode and build a cannon with homemade gunpowder… Now how did he do that again?"

She walked down a stairway and into a small room.

Her eyes lit up.

Hanging on the wall was something that looked like an old wooden crossbow. She took it down.

An alchemy bow. A useful weapon.

But these things needed both cartridges and a pin, and neither were in this room. She had to keep looking…

Then she looked on the wall. A portrait of a handsome-looking demon was hanging there.

Now she remembered… Lamar. He was a guy who was a real ladies man ten years ago, and could have any girl in the Underworld he wanted… But he was tormented by the fact that humans were off-limits. Eventually, he snapped, and kidnapped a beauty pageant winner to prove he could. Even worse, he purposely lifted the magical veil so she could see him. Ah-Mah didn't say much about how the battle went, but for doing something that was one of the biggest violations a magical being could do, he wouldn't be getting out of banishment any time soon.

She walked back up the stairs.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June wandered down a long hallway.

"Please be all right, Lila," she said.

She saw an elaborate, wooden throne on the side of the hallway.

She gave it an odd look…

She felt under the armrests. Things like this always held secrets inside them…

Bingo. There was a catch under one of them. She flicked it.

The seat opened, revealing a compartment loaded with cartridges, small metal tubes used as ammunition for an alchemy bow.

These things had five types of cartridges: fire, water, earth, wood, and metal, and all five types were here. Fire would be best against a voltergeist…

But she also have to set the bow with a fire pin, and there was no guarantee that she'd find one.

After considering for a minute, and determining how much her pockets could hold, she picked three of each cartridge and stuffed them in the pockets of her jeans. (She knew there was no danger of keeping them there – they were inert until they were fired from the weapon.)

Quickly, she hurried down the corridor.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Left, right, left…

Would she ever get to the center? She hoped Lila hadn't been turned into a snack yet.

At least she knew that the voltergeist would keep Lila alive until the last minute. Those creatures liked their meals alive and kicking.

Lila likely would be a tired out wreck. If June knew her, she'd have fought tooth and claw… But there would be little that teeth and claws could do against a creature made of metal.

June entered a large room with a statue of a nude woman holding an apple in her hand on one wall.

She looked at the statue suspiciously. Why would a statue be in an empty room?

She walked up to it and examined it.

Then she noticed that the apple wasn't part of the actual carving. It was a separate piece of stone.

She touched it, and sure enough, she could turn it like a knob in the statue's hand.

With a whir, a panel opened in the wall.

June looked inside, and there were five pins for an alchemy bow, small things that looked like four-inch nails. There was one for each type of cartridge.

She took them. Quickly, she fit the fire pin into the bow, and loaded a fire cartridge into the magazine.

It was ready to fire.

She paused.

She figured she might as well take the other pins as well. Her pockets were too full, so she stuffed them into her bra. It hurt a little, but she might need them.

She ran out of the room, continuing through the maze.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Right… right… left.

Finally, the maze opened into a very long, very wide corridor.

Her goal was down there. She could tell.

She lifted the bow, and walked down the corridor. Slowly, she entered a large room that looked like a rich man's study of some sort. A very large piano was in the corner, several very old couches were strewn around, most of them ragged, and several paintings, only about half of them intact, hung from the walls.

"June!" shouted a familiar voice.

June turned in surprise, to see Lila standing to the side. A large metallic mass was at her feet, and she was resting her left foot on it.

"Hi June!" she said, with a wave. "Thanks for coming, but the problem is taken care of…"

"You took down the voltergeist by yourself?" asked June.

"Yeah, piece of cake," she replied. "Now how about you and me get out of this place so we can get some corndogs, huh?"

June paused. She looked at her closely.

"Uh… yeah…" she said. "Uh, Lila…"

"Hmm?" she replied.

"Think fast!" shouted June.

She lifted the bow and pulled the trigger, and a blast of flame shot from it, striking the figure wearing Lila's face. It screamed, and melted into a mass of metal, which slumped to the floor.

The mass combined with the metal that "Lila" had been standing on, and formed a semi-humanoid shape. It lifted itself partially up, and looked at June.

"What gave me away?" it asked.

June loaded another cartridge into the bow and leveled it at the voltergeist.

"Your complete ignorance regarding the diet of the sasquatch," replied June. "Lila is an herbivore, she'd never go near a corndog."

The voltergeist stood up.

"Well, you certainly can't blame me for trying…" it said.

It gestured, and its "arms" turned into long blades.

June pointed the weapon.

"Give me an excuse…" she said.

The monster lunged at her, and she fired another stream of flame. It fell backwards, and crashed against the wall.

"June?" said a voice. "June? Is that you? Please, I hope it's you!"

The voice was coming from the piano.

The voltergeist seemed to be out right now. The Te Xuan Ze loaded the last fire cartridge just in case and ran towards the piano.

She opened the top, and Lila was inside, her wrists having been shackled together and having been crammed inside in a most uncomfortable-looking position.

"Oh, thank goodness…" said Lila, as June lifted her out. "I was wandering through this place, I don't know how I got in here… And that thing tackles me, cuffs my hands together, and stuffs me into this piano!"

"Well, it could have been worse…" muttered June, looking at the shackles. "He could have stuffed you into a harmonica…"

Gold shackles? Then she remembered – that was what Lamar had used to restrain his victim.

She took hold of the two cuffs. Luckily, gold was incredibly soft. Lila likely only couldn't break them herself because she had no leverage.

With one yank, the chain snapped.

"We'll get the cuffs off later," said June. "Now we'd best skedaddle before he gets up. This alchemy bow is the only thing I have."

"No wands?" asked Lila. "No banishment crystals?"

"Long story," said June, as they ran from the chamber (Lila dropping to all fours as she always did when she had to hurry and humans weren't around).

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"You know the way out, right?" asked Lila.

"Getting out should be easier than getting to the center," said June.

They ran into a room.

"There," she said.

It was the statue of the woman that had hid the pins.

"I remember that. We're on the right track."

After about five minutes, they had reached the throne that had hid the cartridges. They were getting there.

"You don't think that nasty metal thing is following us, do you?" asked Lila.

"Hey, June!" shouted a voice. "Think fast!"

"What?" said June.

Someone threw something to her, and as an instinct, she dropped the bow, and caught it.

June looked at it.

It was the orb.

"Lila…" she said, as the orb started to glow with a blinding light. "As of right now, the voltergeist is what I'm least worried about…"

She hurled the orb down the corridor where they had come, and snatched the bow.

"RUN!" she shouted. "Don't look back!"

The two ran down the corridor, as they heard an explosion behind them.

"What are we running from?" shouted Lila.

"Don't look back…" warned June.

Lila turned her head.

"AAHH!" she shouted, when she saw the magebane.

"Didn't I tell you not to look?" said June, turning to face it.

She aimed the bow, and fired the last blast of fire at the huge bug.

The magebane roared as the flames flickered over its exoskeleton.

"Lovely…" said June. "I think I just made it mad… Through there!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Fausta knew what was happening.

"What do I do?" she moaned. "I couldn't have predicted this. She's in grave danger…

"I can end the test at any time, pull her and Lila out of that maze…

"But if I do… June will fail. And it would be my fault…"

She buried her head in her hands.

"Facing a magebane is one of the most horrifying things someone like her can ever experience. But I must delay saving her until the very last second. Not until its jaws are about to close around her. I must give her a chance to succeed…

"May the power of the Elders walk with you, Juniper Lee…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June and Lila dashed under a gate.

June saw a lever, and gave it a pull. The wooden gate lowered, separating them from the huge bug.

"Given what I know about magebanes," said June, "that will hold it for about a minute…"

The magebane charged up against the gate, and it started to crack.

"…or maybe less."

"Lovely…" said Lila. "Saved from a voltergeist to be eaten by a huge spider…"

"Oh, it won't eat you," replied June. "It sees you, it sees rancid leftovers. Me, however, it sees Cornish hen with all the trimmings. These creatures only prey on people who know how to use magic…"

They heard the sound of the gate shattering.

"And I'm afraid it isn't gonna give up…"

"It isn't after me?" asked Lila.

She turned and rolled up her sleeves…

"Then maybe taking it down won't be so hard…"

The beast turned the corner, and Lila crouched…

"LILA! NO!" shouted June.

It was pointless. Five years as a human had done wonders for Lila, but there was still a part of her that was wild…

…and once she let that part out, she was hard to stop…

With a feral roar, she leapt at the huge bug's face, fist first…

The magebane wasn't impressed. It lifted a foreleg, and swatted her away. She landed right in front of June.

"Ow…" she muttered.

"I should have told you…" said June. "A full, frontal attack is usually suicide against a magebane. If you _were _something appealing to it, that would have been the last thing you ever did."

"So what do we do now?" asked Lila.

June aimed the bow again, and fired, this time shooting a spray of acid from the Earth-loaded weapon. The creature roared again.

"Come on!" shouted June. "That will at least stun it for a few seconds."

They ran again, hardly knowing where they were going in this maze…

Finally, they ran out of places to run. The corridor turned to a dead end.

They heard the thing coming…

"June…" said Lila, sadly, "I feel responsible for this… You came here to save me, and now…"

"Don't mourn yet, Lila," said June, taking a pin from her bra. "We have one last chance, and it all depends on the quality of this weapon…

"You see, magebanes have only one weakness – intense cold. Now, if an alchemy bow is a _very _well-made one, you can combine dissimilar pins and cartridges to fire different projectiles.

"A metal cartridge and a water pin would make this into a freeze ray, but only if this weapon was made by someone who put a lot of time and effort into it."

She changed the pin and loaded the cartridge.

"If this was one of those mass-produced ones, or a similar slop-job, it will likely blow up in my face if I try.

"But it's my only chance…"

The magebane's shadow loomed over the corridor's entrance…

"Lila…" said June. "Before I try this, one thing… If it doesn't work, I'm glad to have met you. And by the way, you can have my anime DVD collection."

"I never said I wanted your anime collection," said Lila.

The monster appeared in front of them and roared…

"I know!" shouted June, aiming the bow, "but Dennis wants it, and I don't want him to have it!"

She fired…

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Did it work?" said Fausta, looking at the cloud of ice crystals that the blast had created. "Oh, please let it have worked…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Whoa…" muttered Lila.

They looked at the magebane, which had been frozen solid in mid-roar.

"Great job, June!" she shouted. "You turned it into a spidersicle!"

"Yep…" said June. "Now, let's find the exit… There's someone I can't wait to talk to…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Fausta was talking on her cell phone.

"Yes sir…" she said. "Yes sir… I understand. Yes, I can do that… Oh, here they come… Yes, I'll call back…"

June came out the exit. She and Lila glared at the felis demon.

"June…" said Fausta, nervously. "Congratulations… Heh, you passed… Nice job creating the ice blast…"

"Yeah, it was great…" said June. "Want to see me do it again?"

She aimed the bow at Fausta.

"Wait!" shouted Fausta. "Mercy, please!"

"What kind of a text for a promotion uses a magebane?" shouted June. "No one is allowed to even have a stuffed one!"

"June, hear me out, please…" begged Fausta. "I didn't put the magebane there, and neither did anyone working under the order of the Elders.

"You see, apparently, someone has taken an interest in this test… We believe that there was… an assassin…"

June's eyes opened a little.

"Great…" she said. "Someone wants to wax me now."

"June…" muttered Lila. "Who would want to get rid of you?"

June made a slight smirk.

"That line starts on a corner on main street in the Underworld," she said, "and goes all around the block… twice."

"Look, June…" said Fausta, "I just got off the phone with ones in charge, and they said that this… unfortunate occurrence changes what we had planned for the fourth part…

"We need the night to decide how it will be handled. Do whatever you will for now… I'll come to your house sometime tomorrow morning and explain to you the details of the Test of Cunning."

June gave her one more look and slung the crossbow over her shoulder.

"So Lila…" she said. "How do you feel about a place where all the food they serve is covered with cheese?"

"You… got my attention…" said Lila.

"Well…" said June, "I guess I can meet with everybody at the Blue Moon tonight after all…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Jodi had been true to her word. Ophelia and Howard had not only made the act a duet, but they were able to make a duet out of songs that you never imagine being made into duets. And despite Ophelia's claim that he was good at the bass, he was pretty good with an ordinary guitar too.

June and her friends watched, as they sang on the stage.

Howard sang:

_**Trailer for sale or rent,  
Rooms to let... fifty cents.**_

Then Ophelia sang:

_**No phone, no pool, no pets,  
I ain't got no cigarettes,  
**_

Howard:

_**Ah, but… two hours of pushin' broom**_

Ophelia:

_**Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room.**_

Then both of them:

_**We're folks of means by no means…**_

_**Kings of the road!**_

Everyone was practically entranced as the two sang…

All except Roger. He guessed he should have expected that his little crush on Ophelia would never go anywhere, but maybe a small part of him had hoped it would…

He shook his head as the two of them walked down from the stage.

"So, Howard," he said. "You like Roger Miller, huh?"

"Oh yeah…" replied Howard. "He was one of my favorites."

"Well then…"said Roger. "Could you, uh, sing 'The Gambler'?"

"Uh, Roger, that was Kenny Rogers," said Ophelia.

"Oh…" muttered Roger. "Well, how about 'Man in Black'?"

"That was Johnny Cash…" said Howard.

"Uh…" muttered Roger. "Well, I'd ask you to sing 'Dang Me', but I know he didn't sing that…"

"Uhm, actually, he did," replied Howard.

June and Lila giggled.

"Roger…" said Ophelia, "you make enough dumb jokes when you try to make them… Now you make them by accident!"

Roger grumbled and moved to another table.

"Make dumb jokes by accident," he muttered. "I guess all I'll ever be is a class clown…"

"Cheer up," said a voice. "You know what they say… Everyone loves a clown."

He turned to the next table, and saw a girl his own age sitting there. She was a pretty-looking teenage girl with curly blonde hair.

"Uh… hi?" he said. "I haven't seen you around here…"

"I just moved here," she said. "I think I'm in your algebra class… Mandy?"

"Oh yeah…" said Roger. "Hello…"

"She's in the class too…" she said, pointing to Ophelia. "I often wonder… She's grim and glum, you're full of life and always happy… And she thinks she's the one who's better off? Who's better off, the optimist or the pessimist? You have to enjoy life, not suffer through it."

Roger looked at her.

"I… never thought of it like that…"he said. "Most people just think I'm weird at best or silly at worst…"

"Hey…" said Mandy. "Some folks became quite successful from being weird. Take Lewis Carroll…"

Roger paused.

"Uh… Mandy…" he said. "You want to blow this place and get a cheeseburger?"

"I'm a vegetarian," she said.

"Thai food, then?" he asked.

"Sorry…" she said.

"Okay…" he muttered. "I'm just so glad that at least one beautiful and smart girl in the world doesn't think I'm some blithering idiot. It makes me feel… kinda nice…"

Mandy looked at him for a minute.

"You know…" she said with a smile. "I think I _will _accept that offer of Thai food."

All this time, June was watching. And she watched as Roger took Mandy's hand and the two left.

_It's all coming into place, _she thought.

She looked at Jodie.

_Will she find Mr. Right soon? Maybe…_

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Uh, yeah…" said Kandy, over her cell phone, "the magebane… it… didn't work as well as we'd hoped."

She listened.

"Don't worry, we have a backup plan. We have some equipment coming, and she won't know what hit her.

"Okay, bye. Don't worry, we'll get it done."

**0**

**0**

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**MONSTER MAXIM **

****

**Magebane**

**Rarity: **Very Rare

**Place of Origin: **Africa

**Magical Class: **8

**Alliance**Darkness

**Average Height: **10'5"

**Average Weight: **750 lbs

**Maximum Age: **2,500 years

**Powers: **Resistant to magic. Incredibly strong and durable. Have no need for rest. Incredible senses of hearing and smell.

**Limitations: **Vulnerable to intense cold.

**Profile: **Magebanes were believed to have been created by some magical experiment ages ago. Whatever the case, they now are the terror of anyone who can use learned magic, because such folk are the only thing it eats. Magebanes will not give up once they have detected a delectable morsel, and have infinite patience. A victim's only chance is to use magic to get to a place where the magebane cannot follow and escape from there.

As expected, the Elders have ordered these creatures destroyed whenever sighted. Extinction of a species is usually something that is avoided, but these creatures are two dangerous. However, some unsavory characters who don't care about consequenses use them as weapons. Special orbs are used to hold them until the time is right to sic them on enemies.

**0**

**0**

**0**

_**Coming up next:**_

_**You can bet that June isn't going to wait to be attacked again. Next chapter, she tries to hunt down her would-be assassins before they can do her in.**_

_**The chapter is called "The Underworld: Test of the Cunning". Don't miss it.**_


	6. The Underworld: Test of the Cunning

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**Chapter Six**

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**The Underworld: The Test of the Cunning**

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Whoever had first developed trance had developed it as a more restful alternative to sleep. A practitioner could relax in a blissful state without fear of night terrors creepy up on her.

Usually.

It was _very _rare for nightmares to happen during trance, but they did happen on occasion.

As June dreamed in the mystical state, her dreams turned frightening. She dreamed she was back in that maze, and the last moments of her battle with the magebane were being played out again…

…but this time, the end happened differently…

As before, she aimed the alchemy bow at the charging creature… She pulled the trigger…

But this time, the weapon exploded, throwing her backwards and covering her with a chilling coating of frost.

She heard Lila screaming her name. She looked up, and saw the beast, drooling. It opened its jaws…

June covered her head as it lunged to swallow her…

It took great effort, but June finally managed to wrest herself out of the trance, right before she vanished behind its great teeth…

She took some deep breaths. Sweat poured down her face.

It would be a simple matter to enter trance again… But would that thing be waiting for her?

She looked at the clock. Three AM.

"When I find out who sent that thing…" she muttered, "he's gonna be sorry he was ever spawned…"

She grabbed the remote to her TV and turned it on.

"Coming up next on SciFi Theater," said the announcer, "Universal Studios classic, _Them!, _starring…"

"I don't think so!" gulped June, changing the channel.

"Coming up next," said another announcer. "_Mark of the Spider Woman."_

"Ugh…" said June. "Is the whole late-night TV lineup out to get me?"

She changed to the channels that not many humans knew about – Magic Television.

A show came on. It looked like a sinister-looking living room of some sort.

The camera panned to a seductive-looking female vampire lounging on a couch.

"Good evening boys and ghouls," she said. "Nocticula here, with another show to take you into the dark side. Tonight, _Dances With Werewolves. _I hope you brought the popcorn…"

"Nocticula?" said June. "Didn't I banish her two years ago for snacking on the teenagers at the drive-in?"

She sighed. She really needed to keep track of all the weirdoes she had fought. She could send them away for the things they had done, but not forever. You couldn't give a life sentence to a monster who was immortal. He'd get out eventually…

Unless…

She shivered.

She was thinking of the Spell of Eternal Banishment again. Would she ever have to use it?

She hoped not.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Despite only experiencing half of her usual trance, June was wide awake when the sun rose. As previously stated, trance was twice as relaxing as sleep, so she didn't need as much.

As she combed her hair, she was surprised to see Fausta leap into her window.

June went and opened the window.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

"First of all, don't worry about that magebane," said Fausta. "We sent some specialists to get it, they locked it in another orb, and it's been buried in the most secure vault of the Temple of the Elders."

"Good…" muttered June.

"Anyway, it's time for Test Four," continued Fausta. "However, this is the Test of the Cunning, and the help I can give you here is little.

"Fortunately, June, there is no real time limit to this part. You can take as long as you want. Of course, I know about your date with Marcus next Friday night, and I'm hoping we can have this finished by then…"

"What do I have to do?" asked June.

"Find your would-be assassins," replied Faustus. "Find them, and banish them."

June paused. She expected her to continue.

"That's it?" she asked. "No other information?"

"No…" said Fausta. "You're on your own."

She paused.

"However, the necklace will give you a tool that the last Sorcerer Supreme used."

The necklace formed into an orb of light…

Then it turned into a golden pistol, with a holder of sorts where the bullets would be loaded. A holster appeared on June's hip.

"It's a new tool to utilize banishment crystals," said Fausta. "Simply load the crystal into that holder, point at whatever you want to banish, and fire."

"Neat!" said June, looking at it.

"As I said," said Fausta. "No more help. You must use all of your cunning and investigative skills to track down these hoodlums.

"I must leave you now. Good luck."

June thought for a minute.

As she started to gather crystals into a pouch, she knew of one place where you could go when you wanted to find information on the criminal element in the World of Magic…

It was time for her to make a trip to the real down-under…

She looked at the pistol on her hip. She thought it looked out of place without a cowboy hat…

She grinned as she remembered that _Nick Six _movie…

"Aw, what the heck…" she said, opening her closet. "Good thing I saved this thing from when the school did _Anne, Get Your Gun…_"

She took out a white cowboy hat and looked at it. Slowly, she put it on.

Something about it combined with the new weapon made her feel a bit more confident…

She picked up a wand, and muttered a quick spell. A portal started to open.

"Okay…" she said. "Message to whoever sent that magebane… A new sheriff is coming to town, and she'll find you… It's only a matter of time…"

She placed a note on the desk.

Then she dove through the portal.

At that moment, Monroe walked into the room.

"Lass?" he said. "Have you seen my…"

He looked around.

"Now where could she be?" he muttered.

He noticed the note. He picked it up.

_To Monroe and Ray-Ray,_

_Had to make a trip to the Underworld to get some information. Will try to be back for dinner. Ray-Ray, tell mom and dad I'm with Ophelia. Her parents and ours are having a disagreement that's not going to end until one side apologizes, so they likely won't call to check on me._

_- June_

"Ugh…" muttered Monroe. "I remember when my dad got into a 'disagreement' like that with one of his friends. It lasted over three decades…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The Underworld…

It was a place that existed parallel to our world, in a way. It had cities, rural areas, and landscapes that were far more bizarre. But a shadowy aura lingered over the whole place. Darkness came from a dim star where a sun would normally be, and an ominous mist hung in the air. Some would call this Hell…

Except for the residents. To them, this was Heaven. Magical creatures of all varieties lived here, forming a society where they didn't have to hide from humans. Many monsters spent their whole lives in this realm, not bothering to explore the World of Humans.

Humans weren't welcome here. If one ever came, he likely would be told to leave. If he didn't, he would likely be thrown out.

But the Te Xuan Ze could come without fear. She was as much a magical creature as the rest of them. Not that June exactly liked this place much, but coming here had its benefits.

The Underworld didn't exactly have a center, but a large city dominated one of the more heavily populated areas. Its name was Gateway, mostly because it had more portals to other parts of the Underworld and to other realms than any other part of this realm.

In one part of Gateway, there was a casual diner that was in the middle of breakfast rush. The chef – a fat demon with horns and three eyes – was frying eggs and hash browns.

Then he heard a lot of commotion coming from the men's room. He sighed and put his hand on his forehead.

"Not again…" he muttered.

June rushed out of the men's room and slammed the door behind her.

"Sorry!" she shouted. "Ugh… Why that stupid portal always leads to that men's room, I'll never know…"

She started to walk out.

"Morning, Tony," she said to the chef.

"Morning June," he said. "Nice hat…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June had come to the more unsavory part of Gateway. Her eyes fell on the local bar.

The Styx Oarsman Tavern. Nowhere else would you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy…

…and they made decent mozzarella sticks too.

Folks who knew things that other folks didn't want known were often here. June had been able to track down more than one quarry from the information she had gotten at this place. If the bartender didn't know something, chances were that a patron did.

There was a risk, of course. She had gotten into quite a few fights in this place. Most of them were started by tough guys who were drunk and simply wanted to prove that they could beat the snot out of the Te Xuan Ze.

She shook her head and walked in.

She looked around. The occupants consisted of three patrons and the bartender. A female demon with wings and horns in a trashy outfit was putting the charm on a lizard man who was covered with tattoos. Sitting at a table was a guy in a buckskin and a wide-brimmed hat, with pointed ears and a patch over his left eye. He also had an ugly scar on the right half of his face. He looked like he was _looking _for a fight – knives, daggers, and a nasty-looking sword were strapped to him.

He looked at June nervously as he sipped from a mug of Abyssal ale…

June looked at the bartender, a guy she knew. He was a hulking creature with the body of a muscular man and the head of a bull.

"Ferd," said June, walking up to the bar.

"How's it hanging, June," asked the minotaur. "Get you the usual?"

"Sure," she replied. "And I was hoping you were up on the usual criminal activity."

"I might know a few things…" answered Ferd, pouring something from a tap.

He handed June a glass containing a green beverage that smoked like dry ice.

"Ferd, are you forgetting something?" asked June.

"Oh… Of course…" he said.

He placed a small shotglass of liquid next to the beverage. It was a necessity. Viperwine (not truly wine) was something that a race of subterranean demons drank, and it was deadly to anybody but them. Members of other races enjoyed drinking it, as June did occasionally, but they needed to imbibe an antidote first.

She quickly swallowed the antidote.

"Anyway, Ferd," she continued. "What do you know about assassins for hire?"

"Why?" he asked with a laugh. "You want to hire one?"

"One is after me," she replied. "Although it wouldn't be the first time, the close call I had yesterday was never closer."

She put the glass of Viperwine to her lips and swallowed it. She placed the glass on the bar, and a wisp of green mist escaped her lips.

"Hmm…" muttered Ferd. "That's tricky… I'd suggest you start looking for whoever hired this guy. Maybe it was Steven…"

"Naw…" replied June. "Last time, we left on reasonably good terms."

Ferd rubbed his chin.

"Khommen-Ghetit?" he asked.

"Not likely…" she replied. "Judging from my calendar, it'll be at least two months before he regenerates again."

"Loki?" suggested Ferd.

"Still in banishment," she said. "Won't be getting paroled for a _very _long time."

"Well, June…" he said, "it takes a thief to catch a thief, as they say, and if you want to catch an assassin, maybe you'd best speak to one… Like Jack over there."

He pointed to the guy with the wide-brimmed hat and eyepatch.

"Him?" asked June.

"Jack the Dart," said Ferd. "He's a bounty hunter."

June looked at the guy at the table.

She walked over to his table, and he turned visibly nervous.

"Look, Ms. Lee…" he said. "I didn't do nothin'…"

"Did I say you did?" asked June, sitting down.

She tipped her hat.

"If you are a bounty hunter, you probably know about any big contracts," she said, "and I'd say one on the Te Xuan Ze's head qualifies…"

Jack sighed.

"All right, all right…" he muttered. "But keep my name outta this…"

He drained the glass of ale.

"It started when I was looking through the classifieds, when I saw an ad that said a jade oni was looking for a someone to do his make-up.

"So?" asked June.

"Jade onis don't use make-up," replied Jack. "They don't have flesh, they're made of jade. Whenever there's an ad in that paper where a demon is looking for something that would be utterly useless to him, it means someone wants to hire an assassin or bounty hunter.

"Once again, keep my name outta this. I'm not supposed to spill secrets like that.

"So anyway, I have a pretty good record as one, so I took down the address and went to go see the guy. He almost hired me…

"But then I asked him who the victim was. When he told me it was you, I said forget it!"

"Oh," said June, smugly. "How come?"

"I swore I'd never mess with the Te Xuan Ze again…" muttered Jack. "The time I did was the biggest mistake of my life…"

"Wait a second…" said June. "I've never seen you before…

"…unless…"

Jack sighed.

"Twenty years ago…" he said, meekly, "someone hired me to take out your grandmother. And she…"

June grabbed him by the collar.

"You tried to wax my grandmother?" she shouted.

"I told you, it was a mistake!" pleaded Jack. "She trashed me good! This scar didn't come from nowhere! And let me tell you, what she did to me was _nothing _compared to what she did to the guy who hired me!"

June released him.

"Good," she said. "Now be a good hired gun, and tell me who tried to hire you."

"Maret…" said Jack. "The Grand Arch Demon of the Sixth Astral Plane. He's become a power-player in Underworld business recently, and he wanted to take care of, uhm, 'unfinished business'. Maybe get that goblet thing once you were gone…"

June stood up.

"Figures…" she said. "I was wondering what happened to him…

"Where can I find him?"

"Would… would you like me to draw you a map?" asked Jack, nervously.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In the top floor of an office building in the upscale part of town was a room that looked like a cross between a receptionist's office and a dismal dungeon.

Seated at a desk was someone who, at first glance, looked like a human woman in a standard secretary's dress. She was typing something on the desktop computer in front of her.

The phone in front of her rang. She didn't stop typing. Rather, she picked up the receiver with a third hand that was on an arm under her right one.

"Maret's office," she said.

As she listened, she picked up a coffee cup using a fourth arm, this one below her left. She sipped from it.

"Uh huh…" she said. "I'm sorry, he's not in right now, can I take a message?"

She listened.

Then she picked up a notepad and pen, using a third set of arms that was below the second set.

"Yes… yes…" she said, writing down the information. "Okay, I'll tell him. And by the way, he had a message for you – this new equipment you got had best not be as expensive as that magebane."

She hung up.

At that minute, the two doors to the room opened forcefully. Kicked open.

June walked in.

"You'd best have the money to pay for that," said the secretary, taking off her glasses.

"I want to see Maret," demanded June.

"Name and purpose of visit?" asked the secretary.

"Juniper Lee," she replied. "And as for why I'm here, I'm going to find out who he sent after me, and then beat the tar out of him!"

"I see…" said the secretary, calmly.

She reached for a necklace on her desk. A very fancy one made of gold and studded with rubies and emeralds.

"I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Lee," she said, fastening it around her neck, "but he's in a very important meeting, and can't be disturbed."

June looked closely at that necklace. She knew she had heard about something like that somewhere…

"I'm going to see him whether you like him or not," she said.

"Ms. Lee…" said the secretary. "I'd like to help you, but unfortunately, I'm only his secretary…"

The gems on the necklace started to sparkle. June started to tense.

"Maybe so…" said June. "But you can…"

An inner voice told her to duck…

And she did, just as the fiend she was speaking to swung a sharp blade, intending to lop her head off.

June backed up, and the secretary slithered out from behind the desk. Not only did she have six arms, she had a twenty-foot-tall serpent's tail from the waist down in place of legs. Even worse, June now knew what that necklace did – it stored weapons in an extradimensional space, and now the fiend was holding five of them – a two-handed claymore in her middle set of arms, and a scimitar in each of her other hands.

"Okay, I lied…" hissed the demon. "I'm his secretary AND his personal bodyguard."

June had never met one of these demons, but Ah-Mah had told her about them. Mariliths… fiends from the darkest pits, and among the most sadistic you were ever likely to meet…

She had a banishment crystal with her that was strong enough to handle this – but it wasn't in the pistol at this moment.

"Juniper Lee, huh?" asked the marilith, as she slowly advanced on the Great Protector. "Seems this is my lucky day. Maret has a large bounty on your head. Wonder if he'd throw in some extra cash if I tortured you first. Not that I wouldn't do it for free…"

"Take your best shot…" dared June.

The demon lunged at her, and June backflipped out of the way of the slashing blades…

She looked down. Her jean jacket had been cut.

_Moves awfully fast for someone with no legs… _she thought. _Have to defang this snake… And I think I know how. _

She leapt up, over the marilith's head…

…and as she came down, she stomped on her tail with both feet. The demon howled.

June leapt up again, and landed on the desk. The computer crashed to the ground.

"Curse you, Lee!" shouted the fiend. "That computer doesn't have an autosave feature!"

June pulled a wand out of her belt.

"_Arachnis, tanglis, spidericis!" _she shouted.

A blast of energy shot forward, hitting the demon and propelling her against the wall.

The next thing she knew, she was pinned to the wall by gooey webs.

"Okay, Octopussy," said June, "time for a chat…"

"You think a bunch of spider webs can hold me?" shouted the demon.

June leapt down from the table.

She took the pistol from the holster, and then quickly switched the gem inside it.

"Actually, I don't," she said, pointing it at the marilith. "But it only has to hold you long enough for me to send you to Never-Never Land."

The demon's eyes widened in fear.

"NO!" she screamed. "Mercy! I've already been banished twice! I can't bear a third time!"

"Then start spilling your guts," said June. "Where's Maret?"

The demon gulped.

"You missed him by about ten minutes…" she said. "He was going to lunch at Hecate's Palace.

"But it's an exclusive place… They only let celebrities and rich people in."

"We'll soon see…" said June.

She turned to leave.

The marilith's eyes glowed red with rage.

The webs caught fire, and burned to ashes. She picked up the claymore, and lunged at June's back…

June spun around, and fired the pistol. The demon screamed and vanished in a burst of light.

The claymore fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Some people… never learn…" sighed June.

Her eyes turned to the door that led to Maret's office.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Hecate's Palace was a restaurant/casino in the same upscale part of town that the office building was in. As June approached it, she saw that there was a line of people waiting to get in.

There was no law that forbade her from entering it simply because it was a casino – legal ages worked differently here. But whether she _would_ be let in was another story. It seemed that only the upper class would ever be let in here, and while the monsters in Orchid Bay considered her such, that wasn't worth much here.

She frowned. Maret would likely be long gone before anyone ever let her into this place.

And judging from the look of the doorman, forcing her way past was out of the question. He was an iron guardian, a creature believed to have been created from the same process that had created the legendary Talos. Not only were these creatures incredibly strong, they were among a rare group of magical beings who could not be banished. That's why many rich monsters used them as guards.

June sighed. She decided to wait in line for at least a little while.

The iron guardian glanced at the line and noticed June. Then he walked over to her.

"Juniper Lee?" he asked in a metallic, tinny voice.

"Uh, that's me…" she replied.

The guardian opened the partition.

"Do come in…" he said.

"Uh, any particular reason?" asked June, following him.

"The owner says to let you in if you ever come," answered the guardian. "Something about owing you for saving his daughter once from some crazy zookeeper."

_Crazy zookeeper? _thought June. _Oh, right, he must mean Gigi. Small world._

"And he also said that he'd foot the bill," said the guardian. "So order anything you like."

June walked in, and quickly saw her quarry. It looked like she came at the right time. He was sipping from a cup of Tramastian brandy, a popular dessert wine.

He noticed her just as she noticed him. June didn't know what do just yet. She didn't exactly want to start a fight right away.

She slowly walked up to the table. He didn't react. It seemed he was going to stay for a minute.

"Long time no see, Maret," she said. "Your secretary said you'd be here."

"Did she also say I didn't want to be disturbed?" he asked.

He looked noticeably worried. He probably could guess that a fight had happened…

"By the way…" said June. "You'd best put out word that you need a new secretary. That one won't becoming back for a very long time… Although I did notice your taste in henchmen is improving. Those goons you used to kidnap Dennis five years ago didn't even get me to work up a sweat."

Maret closed his hand around the brandy glass, and it shattered.

"Curse you, Te Xuan Ze…" he said softly. "Do you realize how hard it will be to replace her? These days, secretaries with her skills won't accept less than five times what I was paying her! Even ones with only two arms…"

"You're gonna have a lot more serious problems than that, Mr. Arch Demon of the Sixth Astral Plane," said June. "I know about your plan to off me, and about the magebane…"

"Heh, heh, heh…" chuckled Maret. "You have absolutely no proof, Te Xuan Ze…"

June took something out of her pocket. A slip of paper.

She unfolded it and Maret turned white.

"I found this on the desk in your office," said June. "It's a receipt from wherever that magebane came from, with the word 'Magebane Orb' clearly written on it, with payment charged to your bank account.

"Now, I don't know why a place that deals contraband bothers with receipts, and I also have no idea why you kept this. Did you actually think you could write this off as a tax deductible?"

Maret stared at her.

"Very clever, Te Xuan Ze…" he said in a sinister voice.

His hand reached under the table.

"But I've come too far to be stopped now…"

He pushed a button on his belt, and June felt her hair tingle.

She turned around, and saw a portal start to form behind her.

Even worse, it was starting to tug at her!

"Throughout history, the Te Xuan Ze have locked up thousands of monsters in lonely prisons…" said Maret. "What goes around, comes, around June. Enjoy your trip to the Ninth Pit!"

The tug turned into a pull. June reached into her pocket as she maintained her footing.

"Try as you might," said Maret, "that portal always wins…"

"Don't… count… on… it…" muttered June.

She pulled a small item the size of a walnut out of her pocket and tossed it into the portal…

At that moment, a great flash of light consumed the whole restaurant. Both June and her foe were thrown off their feet.

When everyone could see again, the portal was gone. June stood up first, and leveled her pistol at Maret.

"No one knows the first time it happened," she said, "but the first time someone tried to give a Te Xuan Ze a taste of his own medicine, the attempt succeeded, and it took him a month to escape. He developed a device called an implosion gem, which could forcefully close any portal used on one creature.

"Since then, every Te Xuan Ze has kept at least one handy at all times, in case some nut tries to get revenge in such an ironic fashion."

She pointed the gun at him.

"But you don't have one, Maret, so if you tell me who you hired to bump me off, you might not have to join your secretary…"

"All right, all right!" shouted Maret. "Two Dark Ones… Their names are Kandy and Randy. If you want to know where to find them, they spend most of their free time at the House of Pleasure."

June's eyes narrowed. She hated that place. She had a good reason.

"You ever been to the House of Pleasure?" she asked.

"Uh…" muttered Maret, nervously.

June reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet.

She looked inside, and sure enough, there was a ticket stub for the House of Pleasure.

On it was written: "Slave Girl: Juniper Lee"

June frowned at him.

"June, look…" he said, frightened. "We can work something out… I have money…"

June leveled the gun at him.

"You like Marcus, right?" he pleaded. "How about if I get someone to make you a love potion? He'd love you forever…"

"Maret," said June, pointing the gun. "Marcus and I will be together… And we both will be so via free will. Bye now…"

She pulled the trigger, and the Arch Demon vanished with a scream.

"Waiter?" she said.

A waiter came up nervously, as June took a credit card out of Maret's wallet.

"Use that to pay his check," she said. "Feel free to deduct as much a tip as you like. Then cut it in half. He won't need it for a long time."

She looked at her watch. It was one o'clock.

"As for me…" she said. "I'd like a menu…"

No way was she going to refuse a free lunch at a place like this. If her prey was at the House of Pleasure, they'd likely be there all day.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The House of Pleasure was the biggest draw of the entertainment district.

But June hated this place.

In _Star Trek: The Next Generation, _a wonderful invention called the Holo-Deck was introduced. What this place offered was similar, except it used magic.

If you wanted to live like a sultan, being attended by harem girls for a few hours, they could give you that. If you wanted to explore the Glades of Olympus, no problem. Everything was an illusion, but they could provide any pleasure for the right price.

Why did June hate it? People often came here when they wanted to take out aggression on someone they hated. If you wanted someone to serve you as a slave, that could be done here. If you wanted to seduce her and steal her innocence, it could be done. Even if you wanted to subject that person to cruel torture, the House of Pleasure could create it. You could never abuse the true subject of your hatred, but the illusions were so realistic...

That ticket stub that June had found meant that he had requested a pleasure in which she was his slave girl. It was hardly the first time she had found one on someone who didn't like her. It sickened her to think that in this building, a doppelganger of herself was wearing a French maid outfit or – even worse – a harem girl outfit and waiting on some demon hand and foot.

And it got worse. She had found ticket stubs with requests for "Torture Juniper Lee" as well, and some that were best left undescribed.

She had complained to the management, of course, but their response was that it wasn't illegal (she checked – it wasn't), and that she was free to retaliate by doing the same thing. Not that she would ever spend money here…

But hopefully, her foes were inside.

This wouldn't be easy. Dark Ones were tough customers.

She went inside, and the place was as busy as it always was. At the reception desk was a frog-like humanoid creature wearing a kimono.

"Thank you, come again," he said, as a customer left.

Then he sighed, as he saw June come in.

"What can I do you for, June?" he asked. "If you're coming to badger me again, I warn you, I've had a bad day…"

"It might get worse," said June. "I have it on good authority that two Dark Ones are here. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"I can't give information about a customer!" he answered. "Client confidentiality is the second-most important rule here!"

"What's the _most _important rule?" asked June.

"No shoes, no shirt, no service," he replied.

"Listen, toad…" said June.

"Excuse me, I'm a frog…" he said.

June grabbed him by the collar and looked into his eyes.

"These two Dark Ones are in big trouble for setting a magebane loose," snarled June. "That's breaking one of the Elders' most important laws, and for your information, so is harboring them. And you know how much I'd just _love _to catch this place doing something illegal…"

"All right, I'll cooperate!" he stammered. "They're in room 2B7 on the second floor.

"But I warn you, the pleasure they asked for was a trip to Avernus… The First Pit. I think that's where they're from, I suppose. It wouldn't be much of a pleasure to a human."

"Yeah?" asked June. "Well beating the crud out of them is gonna be a _real _pleasure."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

He had been right, of course. The simulation in that room would not be very pleasant for a human.

The room's magical illusion cast the image of a rocky wasteland, with volcanoes ringing the horizon. Ash was strewn into a blood-red sky, and rivers of magma flowed through the landscape, forming pools here and there.

Kandy and Randy were relaxing in one of the pools, as if it were a Jacuzzi, and sipping the same Viperwine that June had ordered. They had no need for an antidote.

"So what next, sister?" said Randy.

Kandy looked at the amulet she was wearing. A similar one was on Randy.

"We have what we need," she said. "We'll hop a portal back to Orchid Bay tonight, and surprise her when she's in trance. She'll be weary and wearing nothing but her nightclothes – easy prey."

"Really?" said a voice. "Did you two ever hear the term 'fair fight'?"

They looked up, and saw June pointing the pistol at them, which was loaded with her most powerful banishment crystal.

She pointed to their clothes by the side of the pool.

"Get up and get dressed," she demanded. "I'm not merciless enough to banish two crooks who are naked. But once your clothes are on, you're gone."

Kandy touched her amulet and it started to glow.

"Randy, now…" she said.

He touched his. Then they both took a breath, and dove under the surface of the lava.

"Oh, please…" said June. "You can't hold your breath forever…"

Then the lava pit started to bubble furiously… June stepped back…

Then the two Dark Ones burst up from the pit, and they certainly weren't naked. Both of them were wearing black armor with a skull motif, and bladed edges. Each of them had a longsword strapped to his or her back. The amulets were still there.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked Kandy.

June fired the pistol, and an aura of energy surrounded them.

Kandy just laughed.

"You can't banish us when we're wearing this, Te Xuan Ze!" she laughed. "This armor was custom made for one purpose…

"…killing Juniper Lee."

"Super…" muttered June.

They drew the swords.

"All it will take is one little cut," said Randy, "and you'll die in agony…"

June backed out of the way, and sheathed the pistol for now…

They rushed at her, and she did a back-flip onto the rock formation behind her.

"You don't think we're gonna climb all the way up there, do you?" asked Kandy.

She made a swipe with her sword, cutting through the stone. The rock formation started to topple, and June leapt off, landing on her feet.

She pulled out a wand, the same one she had used on that marilith.

She quickly cast the spell, and the tangle of webs shot at Randy. He shouted as they entangled him, and he fell backwards, plunging into the lava.

"Having a powerful weapon is one thing…" said June. "_Using _it is quite another."

The point was lost on Kandy. She came at June swinging the sword.

June's bracelet glowed, and she blocked with her wrist.

A shield of energy formed on it, and the sword shattered.

Kandy growled in anger.

"I don't need it!" she shouted. "I'll just strangle you!"

She grabbed the Great Protector by the neck, and started to squeeze.

June tried to pull her arms off, but the armor made her too strong. Everything started to turn red…

Then it came to her…

She made a grab for the amulet around Kandy's neck and made a yank. It snapped off.

Kandy screamed as the armor cracked, and then fell into small shards.

She fell to her knees. She could do nothing… She was as helpless as an infant before June.

June took some deep breaths as she pulled the pistol from the holster.

Sure, she had said she wouldn't banish someone who was naked, but she really had no choice now. She pulled the trigger, and Kandy burst into globules of light.

"NO! Sister!" screamed a voice from the lava pool.

June turned and saw Randy crawling out.

"Bring her back!" he demanded.

"When she gets out is up to the Elders," replied June. "And it will help both of you more if you give yourself up now."

"Never!" shouted Randy.

June moved so that her back was to the stone formation.

Randy charged, using his sword like a lance…

June dodged aside, and he buried the sword in the rock.

Randy tried to free the blade, but June wasn't about to give him that chance. She grabbed the amulet and tore it off. Randy screamed as his armor and sword shattered.

He fell to his knees just as his sister did. June didn't waste time. She aimed her weapon and fired.

They were gone.

"Mission accomplished…" said June.

She twirled the pistol on her finger, and then blew across the barrel.

Then it melted into a globe of light again. If floated to her neck again, and formed back into the necklace.

June was a little disappointed. She would have liked to keep it. But maybe she'd get a new one once she was Sorceress Supreme.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

June stepped out of the portal, and she was in her front yard, back at home.

She saw Fausta on her front porch.

"Well done, June!" she said with a laugh. "Completed in only one day! Not bad, if I do say so myself…"

"Aw, it was easy…" said June. "I just knew where to go first, and each clue lead to the next."

"Well, June, ahem," said Fausta, "your mom is making _lo mein _for dinner, so I won't delay you, but I will tell you that Test Five will be right up your alley.

"And you'll be able to have Monroe to help you with this one. He knows how to get to the right place."

"I can hardly wait…" muttered June.

"Go…" said Fausta. "Have dinner, rest, and be ready by tomorrow. You're more than half-done… The Elders are getting excited.

"I have faith in you…"

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**Monster Maxim**

**Dark One**

**Rarity: **Very Rare

**Place of Origin: **Unknown

**Magical Class: **4

**Alliance: **Darkness

**Average Height: **6'1"

**Average Weight: **150 lbs

**Maximum Age: **200 years

**Powers: **Immune to the hazards of infernal dimensions, are stronger, faster, and more agile in darkness

**Limitations: **Are repelled by holy symbols and other sanctified objects. Cannot enter hallowed ground.

**Profile: **The origins of Dark Ones are a mystery. Some believe that they serve an entity called The Dweller in Darkness. Others say that they are the spawn of a being called The Queen of Chaos. Clearly, these demons trace their roots to something very sinister, but exactly what is unclear.

If an unsavory character in the World of Magic wants a mercenary, bounty hunter, or assassin, a Dark One is his best bet. For the right price, these demons will work for almost anyone. Rumor has it that even one Te Xuan Ze hired one when he needed a spy. However, anyone using good magic must be wary, because while not all Dark Ones are evil, evil is in their blood due to their strange background.

When facing a Dark One, it's hard to predict what to expect. Some are fighters, others are killers who aren't much for a fair fight. Indeed, many insidious devices used by modern-day assassins may have been invented by Dark Ones. They do they're best.

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_**Coming up next:**_

_**June takes Monroe with her as her corner man to a stadium in the clouds. June might even enjoy this next test. It's "The Arena; The Test of Strength". Coming hopefully sooner rather than later. **_


	7. The Arena: Test of Strength

_Attention:_

_I'm so sorry this chapter was so late in coming. I've had things to do, and another fanfic that I've been doing._

_But I haven't forgotten this one. My advice to everyone is to go back and reread to catch up._

_So without further ado…_

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**Chapter Seven**

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**The Arena: The Test of Strength**

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June paused for a few minutes after she put on her nightgown.

"Let's see…" she mused. "So far I've been to Wonderland… Fought my way through a cursed graveyard… Been chased by a huge bug… And been to the Underworld to zap away Maret and his henchmen…"

She sat on the floor.

"There has GOT to be a connection here somewhere…"

Her cellphone rang. She got up and picked it up.

"Jodie?" she said, before she answered it.

She put it to her ear.

"June! Hi!" said Jodie's voice. "Listen! My cousin is coming in to town tomorrow, a friend of hers is coming with her, and she has four tickets to the 007 film festival. Want to come with us?"

"The 007 film festival?" asked June. "Gee… That would… probably take all day, wouldn't it…"

"You bet!" laughed Jodie. "Every movie from _Dr. No _to the present! And Sandra's friend is even going to spring for popcorn."

"Who's this friend?" asked June.

"Uhm, I didn't ask…" replied Jodie. "But anyway…"

"Look, Jodie, I'm sorry…" said June, "but I have to do something tomorrow, and I really can't cancel it. Why don't you ask Ophelia?"

"Well, uhm, I did…" said Jodie. "She has plans with Howard…"

"Uh… Roger?" asked June.

"He's doing something with Mandy," she replied.

June paused.

"I don't know what to tell you…" said June. "I really can't cancel. But… uhm… have a good time anyway… At least there's the three of you…"

As June hung up, she became more worried.

She wondered what might happen _after_ she became Sorceress Supreme…

Would she become so powerful, perhaps, that she'd even be asked to join the Elders? No one knew just how they recruited more to their fold, but odds were that the newer Elders were once the most loyal of their underlings of the older ones.

The Elders were so mysterious… June had only actually met them once, when she was promoted to Kanji (more of a title than anything else). She had fought an exiled member once – that Jean-Claude character – but she assumed he wasn't typical of them. She also assumed that most of Jean-Claude's powers had been taken away from him, or he would likely have been much more of a threat.

June didn't know if she would ever accept such a position. The Elders were powerful, yes… Immortal, omnipotent, almost godlike… But they had retreated from both the World of Humans and the World of Magic, cutting off all ties with other beings. To accept such a position would mean leaving your relations behind – forever.

She sighed.

She assumed she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Okay, lass…" said Monroe. "Hope you're ready, because this is a tough one…"

He read from a card he was holding.

"What time does… Wee Willie Winkie run through the town?"

June's brow furrowed. Arts and Entertainment was her least favorite category in _Trivial Pursuit._

"Give me a minute…" she muttered.

"Ten o'clock," said a voice.

The two of them looked up and saw Fausta sitting in the window.

"Who asked you?" sneered Monroe.

"Sorry," said Fausta, jumping down, "but there's business to take care of…"

"I assume this is the felis demon?" asked Monroe, rather annoyed.

June sighed again.

"Monroe, Fausta…" she said. "Fausta, Monroe. What is it this time Fausta? Need me to fight a dragon or something?"

"Possibly," replied Fausta. "Test Five starts in two hours. What do you know about pro wrestling?"

June rolled her eyes.

"Been there, done that…" she said. "Got the t-shirt to prove it."

"Well, good news," said Fausta. "You won't be involved in any pro wrestling."

"Good…" said June.

"Ever hear of Cloudbreaker Arena?"

June started to say something and stopped.

"I've heard a few monsters mention it a few times," she said. "The rich ones…"

"It's a gladiatorial arena," said Fausta. "The arena itself is ten thousand feet over Orchid Bay. The transports are expensive, ensuring that no riff-raff get in…

"In two hours, you're the main attraction."

June held her head.

"Fausta…" she said through her teeth. "You're telling me that the Elders approve of fighting for entertainment?"

"No, not really…" replied Fausta. "But it was the only way we could think of for you to get four worthy challenges in a row. And Test Five is all about martial prowess.

"Anyway, Monroe knows how to get there. You simply have to win four matches in a row and claim the prize. Isn't fighting what you're best at?"

"I suppose…" said June, crossing her arms. "But I don't like it."

"We never said this would be a dance around the maypole," said Fausta. "Anyway, you don't need to bring any weapons… There'll be plenty of them in the arena itself. And the necklace will give you something that will be helpful as well.

"I'll be watching… Good luck…"

She turned and hopped out the window.

"Lass…" said Monroe, "I warn you, that place gets a little rough…"

"You ever been there?" asked June.

"My dad took me once," he replied. "He went there all the time to put money on the favorites. One of the matches I saw, they had to pick up the loser with a mop and bucket…"

June gave him a funny look.

"Although…" said Monroe, "that wasn't surprising, seeing as he was a water elemental."

He hopped up to the bookshelf.

"Lessee here…" he said. "Transmutation, transfiguration… here we are, teleportation…"

He started to turn the pages.

"Should be something in here that can bring us to a flying citadel if there is one up there…"

"Hurry…" said June. "Let's get to this place before Ray-Ray finds out and wants to come."

"Wants to come where?" said Ray-Ray's voice.

He walked in. June slapped her eyes with her hands.

"By the way…" said Ray-Ray, "don't bother mom right now. She's cleaning the microwave…"

June looked at him.

"Is the _reason _she's cleaning it because a certain someone blew up a potato in it again?" she asked.

"Oh, sure, blame me!" shouted Ray-Ray.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The first thing June saw was a brilliant light.

Her eyes adjusted, and she shielded them from the sun (because that's what it was). She looked around, and she could honestly say, she was impressed.

She, Ray-Ray, and Monroe did indeed seem to be on the surface of a cloud, but the wispy, white ground seemed to be as hard as rock. In front of them was an arena; it resembled the Roman Coliseum in outline, but not quite as big, and not in ruins.

Lined up outside were monsters of every shape and size imaginable.

"Late ticket buyers…" muttered Monroe.

"This is so cool!" exclaimed Monroe. "Is this the sort of cloud that giants live on?"

"Aye," said Monroe. "Cloud giants and storm giants are the only creatures who know the magic needed to make clouds solid enough to build structures on them. In fact, the storm giant who made this one owns this place. He's got more money than Bill Gates."

June knew that Monroe wasn't exaggerating. If the World of Magic had a _Fortune 500, _the monster at the bottom of its list might be richer than the one at the top of the list in the World of Humans. In the magical world, ancient treasures and legendary hordes were everywhere. It was a good thing, perhaps, that humans couldn't see beyond the veil… If they could, greedy people would try to take the treasures that rightfully belonged to magical beings… And such greed and jealousy had caused more than one conflict in the past, when the two worlds weren't so far apart.

"So what do we do?" asked June. "Get in line?"

"No idea…" said Monroe. "I've only been here as a spectator, remember?"

"Oh, Miss Lee!" said a voice that sounded like it was both spoken and sang at the same time.

The voice came from a foot-tall fairy with gossamer wings. She was dressed in old-fashioned leather clothing, and had long, dark hair.

"I've been circling this arena for an hour," said the fairy, in her musical voice. "Glad you're finally here.

"I'm Shanalla. I'm in charge of handling VIPs."

June's eyes narrowed.

"If you use your spell on me," said June, "you'll find that it won't work…"

"Uh…" said Shanalla, nervously, tugging her collar.

June wasn't fooled. This was an Unseelie Fairy.

These fairies had a potent ability: They could cloud the minds of other creatures, turning them into slaves. It was common for these creatures to be found with a retinue of enslaved creatures following them around.

If you met one, and could resist her powers and ask why she did it, she'd always say she was just making friends. Maybe they just didn't know how to get ones the proper way. June had disciplined several of them in the last few years.

"June, June!" said Shanalla (again nervously). "I'm just someone trying to earn an honest living… Like I'm really going to use my powers on someone who can kick my butt to banishment and beyond…"

She laughed nervously.

"Follow me… You don't want to hang around these riff-raff!"

"Hey!" shouted one monster.

"What did you call us?" shouted another one.

"I only consider you riff-raff compared to June!" replied Shanalla.

She grabbed hold of June's thumb, and pulled her towards the large building. Quickly, they entered a door that said "VIP Entrance".

They ran down a hallway, towards a door with a star on the front.

"So I'm the main attraction?" asked June.

"Yep," said Shanalla, opening the door. "We made up the dressing room for human standards…

As they walked in, a large clipboard appeared in Shanalla's hands.

"Now, uh…" she said. "We'd appreciate it if you'd sign this waver…"

"What?" asked June. "Let me see that…"

She looked over it. She read:

"This establishment is not accountable for adverse conditions resulting from participation, including…"

She paused.

"Does that say 'death'?" she asked.

"Uh, well…" said Shanalla. "Uhm, it absolves us from responsibility in cases of accident, injury, psychological trauma, rupturing of dimensional portals…"

"Does that happen often?" shouted June.

"From time to time…" said Shanalla.

"Eh, lass, you might as well sign the dumb thing," said Monroe. "It's not like anyone takes responsibility when you risk yer neck doing yer job."

"Fine…" said June, picking up a pen. "Besides, I can handle four fights…"

"Uhm…" said Shanalla.

"What?" asked June.

"Well…" said Shanalla, "only three people so far have placed bets that you'd finish…"

June looked at her.

"All but three spectators bet against me?" she said, now getting angry.

"Well, not completely!" protested Shanalla.

Another clipboard appeared in her hand.

"See, here's how it stands…" she said. "The odds against you beating the first challenger are even. Odds against you beating the second one, five to one. Odds against you beating the third, ten to one. Odds against you beating all four, twenty-five to one."

"Uh, where can I place one of these bets?" asked Ray-Ray.

"RAY-RAY!" shouted June.

"They don't take American dollars, lad…" said Monroe.

"Uh, June…" said Shanalla, flying up to her ear. "This is off the record, but… I personally took the ten to one odds, so if you want to make a few dollars…"

"You gonna bribe me to take a dive?" asked June, with a look of fury in her eyes. "Tell me, Shanalla, you ever hear of a book called _Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book_ ?"

Shanalla screamed and flew out the door.

"Uh, I should have warned you, lass…" said Monroe, "that book gives fairies nightmares."

He chuckled.

"More than a few of them have large bounties calling for Lady Cottington's death… They have a hard time understanding that she's a fictional character."

June sat in a chair, and looked at her necklace.

"So…" she muttered. "What the heck is this thing gonna do?"

As she said that, the necklace glowed…

Then her whole body glowed with golden light…

A flash erupted from her body…

And when it had subsided, she was dressed in golden gladiator's armor, with a breastplate, skirt, gauntlets, boots, and a helmet.

She got up and looked in the mirror.

"Not bad!" she said. "Heh, a girl could get used to this…"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

One hour later…

The arena had filled up, and the a band was playing in the center of the field.

June was behind an entrance at one end, surveying the field through a gate…

It looked like something out of a Russell Crowe movie. The floor was covered with sand, and the walls were covered with very old-fashioned armaments.

She looked around at the weaponry. She knew how to use most of it, fortunately. Ah-Mah had spent part of last summer giving her a crash course on Greco-Roman equipment.

"Okay…" she muttered. "Four one-on-one fights… It's not like I haven't handled worse."

"Wonder if they got an announcer?" said Ray-Ray.

"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and genderless creatures," said a familiar voice at the center of the arena. "This is Mylock the Destroyer, bringing you live footage of the biggest battle royale to hit Cloudbreaker Arena since the Cobra Princess fought the Mongoose King."

"OH NO!" shouted June. "Not that jerk…"

She glared at the diminutive demon. She never liked the media, but she hated this guy most of all…

"I don't know how they managed to get this must pull," said Mylock, "but in just a few minutes, Juniper Lee, the Te Xuan Ze herself will enter the arena, where four challengers await. There are two possibilities… She will either beat all four, or one will gain the right to say that he bested the Te Xuan Ze.

"Are we ready to see which it will be?"

The crowd cheered.

"Just take some deep breaths, lass…" said Monroe, as the gate in front of her started to open.

"And, here she is…" said Mylock, "clearly none the worse for wear since the last time I saw her…"

"That reminds me…" said June. "Next time I'm fighting an angry spitflower, save your questions until after I've taken care of it!"

"Uh, heh, heh…" chuckled Mylock. "Think I'll… Go to the announcer's booth…"

He ran to the front part of the arena.

"Can we get this over with?" asked June.

Mylock appeared in the booth.

"Uh, yeah…" he said. "Is this thing on?

"Presenting… His excellence… Owner of Cloudbreaker Arena… Lord Tiberius!"

Everyone took notice, as a huge form appeared at the best seat in the house. It was a twenty-five-foot tall, muscular giant with a handsome, bearded face and violet skin. He wore a very old-fashioned toga. Two female giants – who were a head shorter than him and slimmer, but also muscular with violet skin – were by his side. One seemed to be as old as he was, while the other looked to be a teenager. June guessed they were his wife and daughter.

"Welcome!" his powerful voice rang out. "Let the battle begin!"

He and his family sat down, and a gong sounded.

The gate opposite June started to rise…

"Presenting the first challenger…" said Mylock, "coming from Stark Mountain in the wilds of the Underworld, let's hear it for Madelyn!"

June was surprised when she saw who came out. It was a woman – a very tall one, a bit taller than six feet tall, dressed in a fur bikini and boots. She had flowing blonde hair, and curves, and a sword was strapped on her back.

June noticed her eyes. They looked wild, like those of some cat.

"June!" she said cheerily. "Madelyn. So good to meet you."

She reached for her hand. June went to shake.

"Lass, a moment…" interrupted Monroe.

June backed up from the strange woman, and Monroe whispered to her.

"Be careful…" warned Monroe. "I've seen these folks. Madelyn is a berserker."

June gave him an odd look.

"If she has enough time," continued Monroe, "she can enter a powerful battle ritual known as berserk, and cut her enemies to pieces."

June looked at Madelyn, who was still smiling.

"How do I beat her?" she asked.

"Try to beat her before she goes berserk," replied Monroe. "She can reach the state in about five minutes. But then, she might have started before she entered."

The gong sounded again.

Tiberius raised his hand.

"Let the battle begin!" he shouted. "Fight!"

Madelyn drew her sword slowly. June saw that she was starting to sweat. Clearly, the process had started.

She had to attack quickly.

She jumped at the berserker and rammed her fist into her gut. Madelyn gave a cry, and fell over on her behind.

"Getting hit is the hardest part of a fight," said Mylock. "Luckily for Madelyn, she fell on her softest part."

Madelyn looked at June, and tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"How could you?" she cried.

"Don't fall for it, lass!" shouted Monroe. "She's trying to stall!"

"Right!" shouted June.

She grabbed Madelyn by the throat.

"On your feet, Amazon!" she shouted.

She pulled her opponent up, and then delivered a flurry of punches to her abdomen. Madelyn let out a cry of pain, and stumbled backwards.

"Heh…" muttered June. "Pretty well-developed abs…"

"Thanks," said Madelyn. "I do try to get to the gym five times a week…"

She raised her sword…

June was getting worried. She was easily able to avoid the blow, but Madelyn was starting to sweat even more. And it wasn't even warm in this place – the high altitude made it quite refreshing.

June put her two fists together and clocked her foe hard in the face. Madelyn stumbled back, bowed her head and dangled her arms…

"It may be over folks…" said Mylock.

Madelyn slowly lifted her head.

She opened her eyes, and June gulped. They were pure white, and glowing. The berserker grinned…

"Too late…" sighed Monroe.

Madelyn let out a roar, and leapt at June with her weapon raised. The smaller warrior leapt out of the way as the sword crashed into the ground.

"Nope," said Mylock, "it's just starting!"

June backed up, as the berserker swung at her with the blade. The pleasant attitude was gone now. All of Madelyn's speech seemed to be made up of grunts and growls.

June felt wall was right behind her. No more room to back up.

Madelyn pointed the sword right at her chest. Then she lifted it above her head…

As she swung it down to strike, the Te Xuan Ze grabbed the nearest thing off of the wall. Two bronze, edged shields were hanging next to her, so she grabbed one. She thrust it in front of the blow…

The impact of steel striking steel knocked them both down, but June was a little more sturdy. She got up just as her foe stumbled to her feet, and grabbed the other shield.

Madelyn glared at her…

June didn't give her time to react. She quickly delivered a blow with the shield in her right hand. As Madelyn staggered backwards, she followed up with her left.

"Twin offensive shield fighting?" said Monroe. "When did she learn that?"

"I dunno, but it's great!" shouted Ray-Ray. "She's going Captain America on that chic!"

The berserker roared again. She swung her sword at June, but she couldn't get past the two bronze disks. June parried, and then attacked again, slamming the Amazon in the shin and the chest…

Madelyn stumbled, and teetered, dizzy…

"Nighty-night…" said June.

With one swift stroke, she slammed both shields against both sides of her foe's head at once. A look of shock appeared on Madelyn's face…

For a minute, the berserker just stared at June, not losing the look of shock…

Then she dropped her sword… She continued the stare…

Finally, she fell over with a crash.

"Well what do you know?" said Ray-Ray. "Like a dinosaur… It took a few seconds to reach her brain."

The crowd started to cheer.

"Madelyn has been soundly trounced!" said Mylock. "Juniper Lee has beaten a femme fatale, proving that her femme is far more fatal!"

"Boy, Mylock, who writes your material?" muttered June, sitting down. "Whoever it is, if I were you, I'd fire him."

A clock above Mylock read three minutes, and then started counting down.

"Looks like I get a three-minute break…" muttered June.

Four demons rushed into the arena. One of them quickly took Madelyn's pulse. Then he nodded to the other three, and they started to carry her out.

"Water?" said a voice next to June.

She turned, and saw a fish-like demon wearing a bandoleer of water bottles.

"Thanks," she said, as he handed her one.

"Don't give up kid," he whispered. "I got thirty clams on you…"

June smirked.

"I'm gonna have to fight with thirty clams on me?" she asked. "That's gonna be hard…"

"Just try not loose until the fourth guy comes out…" he said.

As he left, June put her hand over her eyes.

"Doesn't anyone in this stupid place have any faith in me?" she shouted. "I mean, just looking, I can see twenty guys who I've risked my neck for in the past year alone, and all but three of them think I'm going down!"

"Lass, uhm," muttered Monroe, "there is the possibility that… The fourth fighter is exceptionally powerful… And you know, you'd be the first person to tell someone that you aren't invincible."

June swallowed the water in three gulps.

"We'll see about that," she said, standing up. "Come on, you turkeys! Bring on the next one!"

The clock ticked down to zero and buzzed.

"Well, seeing how June wants to get on with this as much as I do," said Mylock, "let's get going!"

Lord Tiberius stood up, and the gong sounded again.

"Let the next challenger emerge!" he exclaimed.

The gate slowly opened…

"Coming to us from the beautiful island of Crete," said Mylock, "weighing in at… uhm, a lot… the invincible Silverhorns!"

With a loud cross between a roar and a snort, a creature stomped out of the gate that any mythology buff would recognize. It was seven feet tall, had the body of a muscular man, and the head, legs, tail, and hooves of a bull. True to his name, his horns were polished silver. He held a wooden shield in one hand, and a spiked club in another.

"Man, that is one humungous hamburger," said Ray-Ray.

"Okay, fine," said June. "A minotaur… Nothing I can't handle…"

"Careful, lass…" warned Monroe. "Notice that this minotaur has red highlights on his mane…"

"So what?" asked June.

Silverhorns roared again, and took a deep breath. Then he blew a stream of flames into the sky.

"Oh… kay…" said June.

"Fire breathing minotaurs," said Monroe. "Incredibly rare. They're born when…"

"Monroe, I don't have time for a monster biology lesson…" said June.

She walked towards the creature.

"Let the battle begin!" exclaimed Tiberius.

Silverhorns glared at June, and bowed his head. Steam blew from his nostrils.

_Okay, June…_ thought June, staring him in the eye. _Just take him down the same way you took down the one that got into the museum… If he's anything like that one, he'll use the same strategy…_

As she expected, the minotaur charged at her like… well, like a bull. June dug her feet into the ground, and caught the two horns, inches away from her face.

The crowd cheered as she grit her teeth and tried to force the monster down…

Then he started chuckling, in a low, guttural laugh…

June looked, and saw flames start to form in his jowls…

She screamed as a blast of flame hit her in the stomach, propelling her against the wall.

She sat up, as even more folks cheered.

"Ah, my public…" she said, sarcastically.

She saw that Silverhorns was charging at her again, clearing intending to mash her against the wall.

June leapt up, and grabbed another weapon off the wall – a spiked, metal mace.

She knew one thing about a minotaur… Once he started to charge, it was _very _hard for him to stop…

And he couldn't stop in time to stop June from clobbering him over the head with the weapon.

"Ask any teenage girl," said Mynock, "and she'll tell you that nothing deters a male attacker like mace."

Silverhorns dropped his club and shield and held his head in agony. June was not about to let him get his second wind. She jammed the mace into his gut, and he howled.

The crowd cheered again, and started cheering June's name. Finally, June leapt up, and kicked the minotaur across the face.

Silverhorns teetered for a second, and saw stars. Then he collapsed on his stomach.

The crowd cheered again.

"June is two-for-two!" exclaimed Mylock. "And I'd like to say something if I may, addressed to my ugly brother-in-law who took the five-to-one wager today… I told you so, moron!"

The crowd laughed.

As the clock set again, June walked back to Monroe and Ray-Ray, and tossed the mace aside.

"Two more, and we can go home," she moaned.

"Lass, you sure you're okay?" asked Monroe. "That fire hit ya pretty hard."

"Eh, the armor took the brunt of it," said June. "Don't worry guys, I'm more than able to handle two more monsters… Wonder what the next one will be?"

"Attention, spectators," announced Mynock. "An announcement. You are all now directed to put on the special sunglasses that you were given along with your tickets, and to keep them on until further notice. If you by some chance lost them, watch this next fight at your own risk. The management takes no responsibility for any mishaps that might occur."

At that moment, everyone watching, including Mynock himself, produced a pair of dark glasses and put them on.

The fact that she didn't have any – or was even told about them – gave June chills. Clearly, there was something remarkable about this next opponent…

Looking at the clock, she saw that she only had a minute more to prepare…

She looked at the wall to her side, and saw a short sword. She quickly ran up and took it.

At least she'd be going into this fight with a weapon in hand…

The clock buzzed.

"Time for number three!" exclaimed Mynock, as the gate slowly opened. "Coming to us from the hills outside Athens…"

A dark shadow appeared in the gate, and the hiss of vipers proceeded the creature's arrival.

"…captured by our host's hunting team on a routine trip, I bring you… Selina!"

A monstrous form slithered out of the gate. It brought to mind a cross between a woman and a snake, with the lower body of a serpent, and a scaly upper body and face… However, her scalp was a nest of swarming snakes.

She looked at June hungrily…

"Terrific…" said June, sarcastically. "First a minotaur, now a medusa… If I wanted to study mythology, I would have enrolled in summer electives, people!"

The medusa glared at June, and her eyes glowed…

June dropped her sword and raised her hands quickly, and shielded her face.

"That was a little too close…" she said, nervously.

She was _very_ nervous… She knew well that if her eyes met those of this creature, she'd be frozen into a block of stone. Medusas were incredibly rare, and completely feral… The Te Xuan Ze only had to deal with them rarely. It was _very _fortunate that humans could not see them. Most medusas knew that their most powerful weapon couldn't do a thing to humans these days, so they didn't even try to bother humans.

"I'd like to assure everyone," said Mynock, "the restraining collar that we put on Selina keeps her under control. She won't leave the arena floor. Of course, I _really _feel sorry for anybody who's already there…"

"Monroe, Ray-Ray…" said June in a strict voice. "Put your faces on the ground, and do not look up until I tell you to…"

"But…" said Ray-Ray.

"You want Ah-Mah to use you as a doorstop?" shouted June. "NOW!"

The two of them got on the floor and covered their eyes.

The gong sounded.

"Fight!" shouted Tiberius.

"Yeah, right," said June, as the creature slithered towards her. "Just how am I going to fight while I'm covering my eyes with my hands?

"Maybe if I just look down…"

The medusa hissed and rushed for her. June lowered her head, and socked the thing in the gut.

The medusa paused, but it was clear that the blow hadn't hurt her much.

Then June gasped, as the two scaly arms grabbed her.

She shut her eyes tight. What was this thing going to do? Pry her eyes open and force her to look?

Her question was answered as she felt herself being lifted off the ground…

Ten seconds later, she felt herself being hurled into the wall.

_Man… _she thought, sitting up. _This thing is strong…_

"NO!" she screamed.

She raised her hands again, just in time to block her deadly eyes.

She turned her head. This was it… If she got up, she wouldn't be able to avert her eyes… If she stayed down, she'd be an easy target…

Then she noticed that her helmet had fallen off, and was on the ground next to her…

A light went on in her head…

Quickly, she picked it up, and put it on… Backwards.

As the medusa lunged for her, she sprang up, hitting her in the face with her own face, which was now covered by a bronze plate. The medusa hissed with rage.

The crowd started to cheer again.

"It's the old 'Luke Skywalker-practice-helmet-with-opaque-visor trick'!" laughed Mynock. "Can June do it as well as a Jedi Knight?"

_Just watch me… _thought June, getting up.

She concentrated. The old blind-fighting lessons she learned when she was twelve, started to come back. She just needed to focus… When you couldn't use your eyes, you had to use everything else… Hearing, and movement…

The medusa lunged again, but June was ready, she dodged aside, and kicked the monster in the gut. She screeched.

June took a fighting stance, and motioned, beckoning the creature towards her.

"What do you think she's doing?" asked Ray-Ray.

"I'm not looking!" answered Monroe. "One'a those beasts got my cousin!"

June leveled a karate kick to the beast's chest, and then four chops to its face. The medusa roared in rage.

Then June leapt, and grabbed hold of it in a headlock. The medusa cried out in pain, and thrashed in an effort to throw the Te Xuan Ze off…

June held on, not willing to give up. The helmet flew off, but she simply closed her eyes, trying her hardest to ignore the fact that the medusa's snaky hair was now right in her face…

Finally, the enraged hissing turned into a gurgling, and thrashing weakened, until at long last, the medusa fell on her face.

The crowd cheered again.

"Juniper Lee is triumphant again!" shouted Mynock.

A squad of eight demons wearing visors ran into the ring. The clock set again, this time to five minutes.

"I get five minutes this time?" muttered June. "What the hey?"

The demons surrounded the medusa. Quickly, they shot her with a tranquilizer. When they were sure she was truly out, a steel cage with smoked glass windows was pulled into the arena, and she was stuffed into it.

Monroe watched and rubbed his chin.

"I dunno…" he muttered. "I'll have to look this up when I get home… If medusas made the sentient list this year, Tiberius might be in trouble…"

"For what, slavery?" asked June, as the medusa was carted away. "Well, maybe… But let's just deal with the last guy, okay? I'm in no mood to deal with a storm giant sorcerer right now."

She sipped water, as the clock slowly ticked down…

Then, to her surprise, her bracelet started to flash.

"What in blazes?" said Monroe. "I thought that dumb cat said that all threats would be taken care of while you were doing these Tests!"

"No…" said June, ominously. "My next opponent… He or she is the threat…"

She looked at the bracelet.

"It's something I've never faced before… Evil unlike I've ever seen…"

Mynock nervously cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" he said. "The time has come… For the last challenger…"

The crowd was dead silent.

The clock buzzed down to zero.

June stood up. The gate slowly started to open…

And then the gate was blasted apart by what looked like a burst of black smoke.

"Presenting…" said Mynock, "the final challenger… From the Infernal Battlefield of Avernus… Shma-Gho…"

The crowd was silent, as an armored warrior marched to the center of the arena. He was an imposing and frightening figure, his armor studded with blades and chains. He had a full-head helmet, where only his eyes, red orbs of light, peered through. He bore a long weapon that was a spear-like blade on one end, and a rotary saw on the other.

"Lass…" muttered Monroe, "we're in big trouble… This is one of Thanalos's elite guard."

"Thanalos?" shouted June, in surprise. "I… think I've heard of him…"

"Aye…" said Monroe. "He's one of the select few beings who can't be banished, and he used that power a thousand years ago to bully everyone he met until the Sorcerer Supreme of that time personally defeated him in battle. He was sent to Acheron with the strictest warning never to come to the Earth Realm again, lest he face corporeal punishment. If this is one of his men… He's risking the most dire of consequences…"

June looked at the warrior.

"Well, we're gonna see what this is all about…" she said.

She marched up to him.

"Okay, Shma-Gho, was it?" she said. "What's the deal?"

The armored figure chuckled.

"Oh, it's simple, June," he said. "Uh, you don't mind if I call you June, do you?"

June just glared at him, so he continued.

"We heard that the Sorcerer Supreme was being replaced, and Thanalos is planning his big comeback. So we had an idea…

"What better starting point to his invasion, than to humiliate – and slaughter – the would-be Sorceress Supreme, and better yet, do it publicly in front of a bunch of rabid, beer-drinking fight-fans?"

"You're in for a rude awakening, buster," said June.

"Just look at the betting pool, June," said Shma-Gho. "On any other day, most of this crowd would have more faith in you. But today…

"Only one of these spectators bet that Madelyn would beat you. Three bet that Silverhorns would. Five bet that the medusa would. And three-hundred and seventy-eight bet that I would. They were all too scared to wager against a servant of Thanalos.

"The only three people here who dared to do so was Tiberius himself and his wife and daughter, and they will soon be punished for doing so…"

"Juniper Lee!" boomed a voice.

June and Shma-Gho turned, and saw that it was Tiberius.

"I had no choice but to let him fight you," said the giant. "He threatened my family with violence."

June noticed that his daughter was holding onto his wife and crying.

"So do everyone here a favor," boomed the giant, "and show that maggot-ridden hellspawn who the greatest warrior here is!"

The gong sounded.

"Maggot-ridden…" shouted Shma-Gho. "Why, you overstuffed…"

"Oh, Shma…" said June.

The warrior turned to June, who was now holding a large scimitar and a shield.

"You may have scared this whole place into betting against me, but so you know what?" she said. "I've made a hobby out of beating the odds!"

"Bring it!" said the fiend.

At that, two blades clashed, and June heard the crowd chanting her name. Both of them grunted, as they pressed their weapons against each other.

"Grrr…" said Shma-Gho. "Okay, you're strong, but can you do this?"

He collapsed into smoke, and June fell on her stomach. Shma-Gho reformed over her.

The rotary blade started to spin. The fiend thrust down, but June rolled out of the way. Dust flew from the spot where it stabbed into the ground.

June swung her sword into the heft of his weapon with a mighty smash, and it broke in half. Shma-Gho staggered backwards and growled.

He tossed the broken pieces of the weapon aside, and gestured. A mace flew off the wall and flew into his hand.

He swung it at June, and she blocked with her shield. She staggered backwards, leaving a dent in the protection. He smashed into it again, denting it further.

June discarded the now useless shield, and slashed at his breastplate with her blade, slashing through two chains. He grunted, and went back on the offensive. The sword and the mace clashed together…

The weapons pressed together again…

Both warriors screamed, and their two weapons flew from their hands.

Shma-Gho stared at June. She stared back…

Her gauntleted fist slammed into his helmet, knocking it off his head. June stepped back and looked at him. He was an ugly demon, with grey, lumpy skin, pointed ears, and a bald head covered with knobs.

"No wonder you wear that helmet," she said with a smile.

She rushed at him, but he turned to smoke again, and flowed behind her. June paused…

He tried to make a grab for her, but she threw her head backwards, hitting him in the face with her helmet. He howled and held his nose.

"Looks like Thanalos has chosen the wrong dimension to start a fight!" shouted Mynock. "June is taking this guy apart piece by piece!"

She was indeed. First she ripped off the breastplate. Then the shoulder guards. Then she pulled off his gauntlets and clobbered him over the head with them. Shma-Gho fell over, and tripped over his leg guards.

June picked up her sword from where it fell.

"I really don't envy you, Shma-Gho," she said. "I can't banish you, so the way I see it, you have a choice…

"You can let me deliver the final strike, or you can retreat and tell Thanalos that you failed.

"If you do the second, tell him that if he decides to violate the deal and come here, I'll be waiting for him, but I will be Sorceress Supreme, and I'll be a great deal more powerful by then."

She lifted the sword…

And then the demonic warrior vanished in an explosion of smoke.

The crowd cheered, and June fell to her knees.

Lord Tiberius stood up.

"I hereby declare Juniper Lee the winner!" he shouted.

"And in light of the circumstances, uhm, all wagers today made are hereby rendered null and void."

The crowd cheered again. June grinned.

"Great…" she muttered. "Can I go home now?"

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It was five PM.

June didn't want to do anything more today than relax in the wading pool she had set up on her front lawn. At least she had gotten the prize money for winning the contest, although it was only legal tender in the Underworld.

She chuckled. She had enough money to buy almost anything in the Underworld, but she still had to save for college in the real world.

She almost dozed off, when she noticed Fausta hop up next to her.

"Fausta?" she said, taking off her sunglasses. "We need to talk."

"Yes, I know," she said. "Thanalos… Well, it was likely only a matter of time before he decided to defy that order…

"You must not fail, June… You must become the next Sorceress Supreme."

"I'm in," said June. "I'm in more than ever. So what next?"

"Test Six is tomorrow at noon," said Fausta. "Wear your armor. Bring the Staff of Wu-Shu. You'll need all the trimmings.

"Go to Devil's Hollow. You'll know what to do once you get there…"

She leapt away, leaving June more than a little nervous…

Then she saw two people walk by her front gate…

Jodie…

And…

…a boy?

"Jodie?" called June.

Jodie turned, and the boy she was with turned. He ws a handsome, muscular teenager with silky hair and blue eyes, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

June couldn't help but be a little embarrassed. She was in her bikini…

"June, hi!" laughed Jodie.

She put her arm around the boy's arm.

"This is Jason. He's my cousin's friend."

"So…" muttered June. "How was the… 007 film festival?"

"Great!" said Jodie. "We just got back… And now Jason is taking me for burritos."

June grinned and looked at them.

"Have a good time," she said.

She lay back in her wading pool as they walked off.

_Everything is falling into place… _she thought.

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**Warrior of Acheron**

**Rarity: **Rare

**Place of Origin: **Acheron

**Magical Class: **5

**Alliance: **Matter

**Average Height: **6'3"

**Average Weight: **200 lbs

**Maximum Age: **500 years

**Powers: **Able to assume the form of living smoke, able to use telekinesis on metal objects, can travel through the planes, cannot be harmed by fire or poison, cannot be banished.

**Limitations: **Weakened by exposure to clean water.

**Profile: **No one knows if these demons are natives to Acheron or just happened to take up residence there. Acheron is a place where metal and scrap litters the ground like some vast junkyard, so the Warriors of Acheron forge it into metal and armor, and practice the skills of war like none other. It was this skill that attracted the warlord Thanalos to them, and made him form and army out them. The Warriors of Acheron are violent to the extreme, and love to fight. If there's no enemy to fight, they usually go looking for one.

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_**Coming up next:**_

_**To complete her next text, June must face one of her old foes, one of her most powerful. To say the title of the chapter would be giving it away, so I'll stop there.**_

_**But it'll be a smash. Be here. I'll have this done sooner than this one got done.**_


	8. The Vault: Test of Temptation

_Once again, I'm sorry this chapter was so long coming._

_Anyway, read and enjoy. I'll get this fic finished eventually. I always finish what I start._

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**Chapter Eight**

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**The Vault: The Test of Temptation**

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June was up with the sun. It was very early on a Thursday morning.

She was in Ray-Ray's room, and her younger brother was sleeping soundly on her bed. She felt a little dirty for having to do this, but she really didn't have a choice. Besides, he would likely have better dreams than he had in months. For a mission that promised to be so important, she really couldn't have him tagging along.

Carefully, she uncorked the small bottle, and ever so carefully, she sprinkled the sparkling dust on his eyelids.

Ray-Ray yawned, and smiled. He turned over and started snoring loudly.

The slumber power would ensure that he slept much later than normal. She could make her way to Devil's Hollow without fear of him following.

Her next stop was her closet. She opened up the false back, opening the compartment where the Staff of Wu-Shu and her armor was kept.

She grunted a little as she fitted the suit into place. She definitely had to get it adjusted. Her body had… matured a great deal since she had worn it last, developing curves that the armor did not develop.

Still, she liked wearing it again… The rare times she actually had to wear this ensemble, she felt more like the Te Xuan Ze than ever.

She put on the helmet and picked up the Staff. Then she looked in the mirror.

She paused.

She spoke a small verse: The words she had first spoken when Ah-Mah had formerly passed the title on to her:

"_I am but a hand;_

"_I am but a vessel;_

"_I am but the stone that balances the worlds."_

She smiled.

She loved saying that… It was the Oath of the Te Xuan Ze, and had a very deep meaning, but she really liked the sound of it.

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As June walked down the street (riding her bike while wearing the armor was far too awkward) she felt a little self-conscious.

People were walking by. The humans who passed by couldn't see the armor. They simply saw Juniper Lee as they usually did, with nothing unusual. But even after being the Great Protector for so long, June couldn't shake the small feeling, at least the small, subconscious doubt, that the veil might not be so concealing.

Of course, the occasional magical creatures who were out could see the armor. Although all of them knew June, they realized from the equipment that something big was up.

Two fix-it elves working on a car looked her way for a minute. One of them almost considered asking her what the trouble was, but then decided against it. The next block down, an ogre was leaning against the side of a building flipping a coin. He was curious when she passed by, but he had learned in the past that it was best to mind his own business.

She stopped at a corner to wait for the signal to change…

"June!" said a voice.

"Marcus?" she said.

June turned and saw Marcus walk up.

June had never felt stranger before than she had now. She was dressed in full Te Xuan Ze regalia, and one of her closest friends was right in front of her.

"Hey June," said Marcus. "Uhm, I just wanted to remind you that the reservations are for eight tomorrow."

"Reservations?" asked June.

"You know…" said Marcus. "At La Maison Rouge."

June's eyes opened wide. She had almost forgotten.

She chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, of course…" she said. "I haven't forgotten."

"Pick you up at seven, okay?" he said. "Wear something nice."

June sighed as he walked off.

She hoped this whole deal was done with by then.

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Devil's Hollow…

This series of rocky hills outside of town was avoided by both humans and most magical creatures. Each world had its own superstitions about the place.

Humans believed that, years ago, witches had conducted strange rituals here, using black magic for evil purposes.

Magical creatures, on the other hand, believed that the place was a nexus containing portals to the infernal dimensions. They believed that if you took one wrong step, you could stumble into a portal that would send you falling into Hell.

Most residents of Orchid Bay thought this area was cursed…

…but the Te Xuan Ze roamed its canyons and crags without fear.

She looked around. For all its notorious reputation, it wasn't very remarkable. Not much except unmoving stone and a few shrubs.

Her necklace started to glow…

This time, the change was subtle. Rather than make a full change, the necklace simply formed two walnut-sized gems.

One was pure white, the other was dark purple.

June recognized these gems – they were aura crystals. The white one would react to a powerful presence of Good, while the purple one would react to a powerful presence of Evil.

"So now what?" she muttered.

She sat down.

"Do I just wait for the next challenge to come? Wonder what it will be this time…

"I really hope Loki is still where I left him… I'd hate to deal with him again…"

She was startled as the purple gem started to flash.

She got up, and held the Staff up. She started to look around for the enemy.

"Awfully jumpy, aren't you, young warrior?" asked a voice.

June paused.

She knew that voice…

"Up here, warrior," said the voice.

She looked up.

Perched on the rock above her was a man with a youthful face, his hair tied in a long ponytail. He was wearing very old-fashioned armor, and carried a katana blade by his side.

June's eyes narrowed.

"Kai Yee…" she muttered. "How the heck did you get here? Last I checked, Ah-Mah was still using you for a hat rack."

"Perhaps her wards of binding weren't as strong as she believed," said Yee.

June looked at him, as anger started to grow inside her. She couldn't help but feel hatred for this man. He had once been one of the greatest of the Te Xuan Ze… But he had become a traitor, and had tried to steal the power of the Elders for himself.

"Listen, Yee, you want to fight?" asked June. "Fine… I beat your sorry butt before, and I've gotten a lot better since then."

"Fight?" asked Yee.

He leapt off the rock, landing a few feet in front of her.

"Now whoever said I wanted to fight? I just wanted to talk…"

"Oh, please…" muttered June.

"Just hear me out, June," said Yee. "You wouldn't have come to this accursed place unless you were trying to achieve some greater purpose, and I can help…"

"Don't do me no favors, Yee!" shouted June.

She crossed her arms.

"I know the whole Chase Young routine…"

"Chase Young?" asked Yee.

June chuckled.

"I'm guessing you never got a chance to watch much TV," said June. "Let me explain… Chase Young is a guy on a cartoon that was on a few years ago… Heck, you even look a little like him…

"Like you, he was once a powerful warrior for the side of Good… But like you, he decided that Evil was easier, so he turned to darkness."

"I like him already," said Yee, with a small laugh.

"But you see, Yee," said June, "the thing is, Chase isn't your typical villain. He doesn't always charge at the heroes with his sword drawn. Sometimes he actually offers them help…

"But the heroes must be very careful about using or accepting this help, because they know that the only time Chase will help them is when doing so also benefits him in some regard."

June stared at the traitor. He crossed his arms.

"Fine…" said Yee. "Anyway… I do know that what you came here to find is likely behind that hill over there…"

He pointed over his shoulder.

Then he started to walk away in the opposite direction.

"You can attack me if you desire, young warrior," he said, "but a word of advice… Even if you defeated me, you would be exhausted, and in no condition to handle the challenge that awaits you over that hill.

"So maybe it is in your best interest to let us part company for now… I'm certain we will meet again."

June quickly weighed her options as he started to walk away. Kai Yee was a very dangerous man. He likely was planning to steal the power of the Elders again…

But he had a point. If she wasted energy in a battle now, she more than likely would fail the Test…

She couldn't afford to fail. She had to become Sorceress Supreme. Especially since Thanalos was a much greater threat.

The Elders had beefed up their security since Yee's last attempt anyway. She'd make it a point to hunt him down later.

For now… She would check out that place he had been pointing to.

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June was more than a little puzzled.

She was standing in front of a large, circular, stone door, built right into the side of the hill.

And she could tell that it was not only locked, but protected by a very special ward. Most creatures, humans and magical creatures alike, wouldn't even see it – they would only see the hillside. She could see it due to a few privileges awarded to her station.

That didn't mean she was getting in, however. She read the runes on the door. It was a glyph that basically meant "authorized personnel only".

She noticed that the gems on the necklace were glowing – both of them.

That was odd. Something about this door – or something inside it – registered auras of both Good and Evil. Such a contradictory combination was unusual, but it could happen.

As she was pondering this, a small hatch opened in the center of the door.

A long tentacle snaked out of the hatch, on the end of which was an eyeball. It looked at her, and she looked back in surprise.

"Who goes there?" said a gruff voice.

"Uhm…" she replied.

The eyeball looked her over.

"Identified…" it said. "Juniper Lee… Access granted…"

"Wait…" said June, as it retracted back into the hatch.

Then the door slowly opened with a rumbling, grating noise.

June shrugged, and walked in.

Inside, she was a little startled when she saw the creature that had spoken to her a second ago. It looked like a sphere, floating above the ground, with a large mouth, a large central eye, and four long tentacles on top that ended in smaller eyes.

She remembered hearing about these creatures. Spectators, guardian beings from a dimension of ultimate Law.

It stood aside and let her by as she looked around, in a place that seemed nothing more than a rocky cave lit by torches. There didn't seem to be much here.

"What is this place?" she said out loud.

"This is one of the Elders' storage vaults," said the spectator. "Very recently built. Currently, it only stores one item."

"So what would that be?" asked June.

The spectator pointed to an alcove on the far wall.

June looked, and saw a book on a pedestal. She walked up to it.

Her heart leapt with excitement. A spellbook!

She took some deep breaths. She would never steal from her bosses, but apparently, this guardian didn't mind if she looked…

It wouldn't hurt.

She opened the book. She glanced back to see if the spectator objected. When it didn't, she started to turn the pages…

She didn't notice that by doing so, the purple gem was starting to glow.

She read through the spells. They were interesting…

A spell to summon a swarm of locusts… Ugh, not very clean.

A spell to turn an enemy into a statue of jade…

A spell to ensure victory in any game of chance…

She looked up and thought for a minute.

"Nah," she said, turning the page.

After turning a few pages, one formula caught her eye.

"Tears of the Succubus…" she read. "Turn a member of the opposite gender into your loyal slave forever…"

She smirked. For a minute she envisioned Marcus fulfilling her every desire…

Then she shivered. What was she thinking?

She started turning the pages quickly.

Her eyes fell on one page.

"Ritual of Awakening…" she said, reading. "Requires three artifacts… Once gathered, prepare via the offering of the blood of an innocent…"

She slammed the book closed.

She took some deep breaths. What a fright!

She noticed the glowing gem now…

This book wasn't just dark magic… It was full of incredibly evil dark magic.

"No wonder the Elders locked this up…" she muttered.

"That's right," said a familiar voice. "Someone they wouldn't want using it might have found it…"

June spun around.

Kai Yee was standing over the unconscious spectator.

"Yee?" shouted June. "How did you get in here?"

"How do you think?" asked Yee. "This stupid excuse for a guard didn't close the door when it let you in.

"Thank you so much for helping me get in here… I didn't know any other way to get to that spellbook."

"No… way…" said June. "There is no I am letting you make off with this…"

"And how do you intend to stop me?" asked June.

June stashed the Staff of Wu-Shu on her back, and picked up the book.

"You can have it…" she said, "if you can get it."

She held it against her chest.

"I see no problem with that," said Yee.

He quickly drew his sword.

June seemingly didn't make any reaction as he lunged at her…

As he made a slash with the blade, she leapt up, somersaulted over him, and landed behind him. As his sword sliced the pedestal cleanly in half, she ran for the exit.

Yee watched as she ran.

"Tsk, tsk…" he said. "Poor little warrior…

"You can't outrun me! I was chasing faster things than you before you were even a mote in your mother's loins!"

_Man… _thought June, as she fled from the cave. _That's gotta be the corniest threat I've ever heard! And that's saying a lot._

_But he's right… I can't outrun him… It's only a matter of time before he…_

Then she winced in pain…

Four shuriken had hit her in the back. It was a good thing she was wearing the armor… If she hadn't, they'd likely have gone through her instead of just cutting into her.

She winced in pain. He had clearly gotten better. She had to find somewhere to hide until she could plan a strategy.

She looked behind her. He was gaining.

She leapt over a rocky outcropping. Luck was with her. A small hollow was on the other side which she could just squeeze into. She slithered into it, wondering what to do next.

She couldn't see Yee, but she knew he was close.

"I know you're around here somewhere, young warrior," said his voice.

He chuckled.

"Pathetic… You hide like some frightened rat, giving me ample time to decide just how to end your life…

"You might as well give up that book… It will be easier on you."

June didn't know what to do. Would she fight him and risk death?

She had a few banishment crystals, but she didn't even know if they'd work on Yee. He was human. She had never tried to banish a human before. She had always been tempted to do so with some people, but she had assumed she would be punished if she tried – maybe with the same fate that had befallen Yee.

There had to be something she could do…

She realized something…

She was holding a book of very powerful spells right now.

She slowly opened it again…

There had to be something in here that she could use to defeat him… It wouldn't matter if she used one of them for this…

She quickly leafed through them.

A spell caught her eye.

Flaming Doom.

It was a spell that could destroy an enemy by conjuring a flaming crack in the earth to open at his feet, sending him falling to a fiery end. She had heard of this before. If it couldn't take him out, nothing would.

She peeked out from her hiding place.

He was standing with his back turned to her! This was the best chance she would ever have…

If she read the spell directly from the book, it was almost guaranteed to succeed…

She stared at her enemy. The air pressure changed slightly, as did the wind…

June started to whisper the words of the spell. It was four lines… She simply had to get them all out…

_Gamano, paristo, malamto, apathac…_

_Mammammo, corovo, salavo, samanac…_

The sky started to turn dark… It was starting to work.

_Turumo, delavo, hakado, muhogac…_

_Man…_

Then she stopped.

She slowly closed the book.

A look of surprise was on Kai Yee's face as he turned around.

June was standing there, holding the Staff of Wu-Shu.

"Why didn't you finish?" he asked.

"Because I remembered something else about Chase Young, and about you," replied June. "You both try to get the heroes to join your side.

"Well, Yee, you're no Chase Young… And even he was a far cry from Emperor Palpatine."

"Who?" shouted Yee.

"Looking for a fight, pal?" asked June, lifting her staff. "I don't need forbidden magic to take you down…"

"We'll soon see, warrior…" he said, lifting his sword.

Yee lashed out first, trying to cut the young Protector in two with his blade, but June's staff parried, and did the next two blows as well. Then June made a powerful swing with the staff, slamming it into the side of his head.

Yee hollered.

"You little brat!" he shouted. "I'm going to…"

Before he could finish that threat, the staff swung down and struck him on the top of the head.

"Funny…" said June. "So many warriors pride themselves on their skill with the blade… But time and again, other warriors prove themselves just as lethal with a good, long stick!"

"Your pathetic bo is no match for my blade…" growled Yee.

The two weapons clashed again. For a moment, sparks flew.

"My grandma taught me…" said June, "that fighting power isn't defined by the weapon… but by the one _holding _the weapon!"

She clobbered Kai Yee in the ribs. He screamed.

"I am the true weapon!" screamed June.

She swung the staff again, and the sword flew from his hand.

"I am the Te Xuan Ze!"

She struck him in the shoulder and he fell to his knees.

"And you're finished…"

Kai Yee bowed his head.

He groaned, and then vanished into a plume of black smoke.

June got up, and looked to where she had placed the book.

The spectator was there, and it was picking it up with two of its tentacles.

"June…" it said. "Why don't we keep this business of me forgetting to close the door between the two of us, okay?"

"Don't worry, fellah," said June. "I have a feeling the Elders wanted it to go down this way."

She sighed as it floated away.

"So, Fausta…" she said. "Is this test done with?"

She paused.

The felis demon did not appear. She was nowhere in sight.

June looked at the necklace.

It was back to its normal state. The test must have been over. So where was Fausta.

She smelled something in the air.

Smoke? Something was burning…

She started to walk back in the direction of town…

Worry turned to fear when she realized that the smoke was coming from there.

As she walked up a hill, she gasped with fright…

The city…

Orchid Bay was on fire…

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**MONSTER MAXIM**

**Spectator**

**Rarity: **Very rare

**Place of Origin: **The Realm of Law

**Magical Class: **4

**Alliance: **Light

**Average Height: **4'5"

**Average Weight: **320 lbs

**Maximum Age: **Unknown (possibly immortal)

**Powers: **Levitation, telekinesis, ability to create food and drink, ability to cause physical pain with its gaze, does not need rest.

**Limitations: **Especially vulnerable to magic that involves chaos, chance, and randomness.

**Profile: **Spectators come from a dimension where Law is the dominant force. Some say they are related to beholders, given their similar appearance, but how those chaotic monsters could be related to them is anybody's guess.

Spectators live to guard things. They are often summoned by powerful magic users to guard important objects and locations. Since they don't sleep and never grow bored, they are especially good at this job. Since a spectator's physical might is limited, it usually is charged with raising an alarm, rather than fighting off intruders. It guards it charge diligently, until it is dead or until the thing it is guarding is no longer there.

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_**Coming up next…**_

_**It ain't over till its over, and next chapter, June faces her final challenge. Will she be worthy of being Sorceress Supreme?**_

_**Don't miss "Orchid Bay, The Final Test". It's coming soon.**_


	9. Orchid Bay: The Final Test

_The final chapter. It's short, but there wasn't much to do._

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**Chapter Nine**

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**Orchid Bay: The Final Test**

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June ran into the city, a terrified look on her face.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Her city… Her home… It was on fire. Her whole life was going up in flames.

She looked around in horror. Was her house among the ones that were being destroyed? Was her family safe?

What about Jodie, Ophelia, and Roger?

She fell to her knees.

"NO!" she screamed.

It wasn't fair! They all had just found someone who cared for them. And now their lives were likely ruined…

If they weren't…

Despair slowly turned to rage. She knew that the source of this blaze was in the center of town. She would find the one responsible, and she would dole out punishment as only the Te Xuan Ze could.

She slung the Staff of Wu-Shu over her shoulder, and rushed towards the source. She could smell the place where the flames were the hottest.

But when she ran into the town square, she was shocked to see who it was.

Hovering in mid air was Flamara, looking more fiery than she ever had been. She laughed maniacally as she shot flames out of her hands, setting fire to more targets.

"June!" she laughed. "So glad you could show up! I couldn't find you when I broke out again, so I decided to barbecue your little city!"

June clenched her fist in rage.

"You just made your last mistake, demon…" she said.

And as she finished her sentence, she made a flying tackle, throwing both of them against a wall.

Flamara erupted in flames, and June screamed. She let go for a minute.

But then she recovered, and started punching her foe, hard. Bruises started to form on Flamara's face and torso.

How long the fight went, June likely never knew. She was too full of rage. Finally, Flamara fell down, dazed.

June tore a nearby lamppost free, and wrapped it around the demon, pinning her arms to her sides.

"So what are you gonna do June?" asked Flamara. "Send me back to where I was before."

June took some deep breaths. Great anger appeared in her eyes.

"Not this time Flamara," she whispered. "You'll never harm another soul again…"

June muttered a quick incantation, and a large tome appeared in front of her. It was her book of banishment spells.

She opened to page three-hundred and forty-two.

"Spell of eternal banishment…" she muttered. "Here it is…"

Then she came to her senses.

Could she actually do it? If she cast this spell, she would be condemning Flamara to darkness… forever. She'd send her to a lonely prison where she could never return from.

June closed her eyes.

Then a new set of senses came to her.

Flamara had been given enough chances. She would only escape again if she were banished the normal way. And now she had destroyed Orchid Bay. She deserved eternal banishment.

June slowly started to cast the spell. Some words were in Latin, some were in Gaelic, some were in ancient languages that no human knew.

Flamara started to scream as more words of the spell were cast. A dark portal started to open. June continued to cast the spell.

June closed her eyes as she spoke the last words of the spell. She couldn't watch as Flamara was swallowed up by the dark void.

She fell to her knees. Flamara was gone. She'd never harm anyone again.

June didn't open her eyes for a long time.

"June?" said Fausta's voice. "Cheer up June… All is not as it seems…"

June's eyes opened.

The city had been restored. The fires were gone, and all was as it were before. There was no trace that the destruction had ever occurred.

"Fausta…" she said. "What happened?"

"You passed the final test, Sorceress Supreme," said Fausta.

The felis demon looked at the book.

"The spell of eternal banishment… It's the most dire punishment that the Te Xuan Ze would ever have to administer…

"But June… The Sorceress Supreme must face far worse foes than the Te Xuan Ze. She must administer that, and even more dire punishments.

"We had to make sure you were willing to do it."

"You mean…" said June, "that wasn't Flamara?"

"It was all a ruse for the test," said Fausta. "And you passed."

"Congratulations, Juniper Lee!" said the voice of Zordamalos.

The flaming face appeared in front of them.

"You have done well, and you are ready to take the next step, to Sorceress Supreme!

"All you must do, is accompany me to the Temple of the Elders, where your initiation will take place."

"Great!" said June. "Uhm… This initiation doesn't involve the destruction of my old body and the generation of a new one, does it?"

Zordamalos chuckled.

"Not at all…" he said, as they started to vanish.

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June was on the road outside of Orchid Bay.

Above her was a sign: "Orchid Bay City Limits".

She slowly walked forward.

She let out a scream of delight…

The barrier was gone!

She started to run. She ran faster and faster. Finally, she fell on her back.

"I'm FREE!" she shouted.

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That Sunday, at La Maison Rouge, June was in her best dress, and Marcus looked great too.

A waiter brought the escargot appetizer to their table.

"Wow, Marcus," said June, "you make me feel like a princess!"

"So, June, what's this big event you wanted to celebrate?" he asked.

"Well…" said June, "let's just say my options for the future just got much, much bigger. And maybe they'll be more for the two of us down the road too."

"Aw, that's so sweet June," he said. "Say, I hear that To Wild To Tame is going to be in Smithville next Saturday. I might be able to get tickets."

"Smithville, huh?" she said. "Mmm, maybe I'll be able to… Let me check my calendar when I get home…"

She giggled as she drank her soda.

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Eight months later…

Paris.

A motorcycle drove down the streets of the city, with June at the helm. Fausta held onto her shoulder.

"June!" said Monroe's voice, through a mobile headset in her helmet. "I've located the portal! Thanalos opened it right under the Arc de Triomphe!"

"Then that's where we're going!" said June. "Time to go stomp some demon butt!"

"Be careful, lass!" shouted Monroe.

"Easy, Monroe," said June. "You forget… I'm a whole new Great Protector…"

She sped down the road, to where duty awaited. The duty of the Sorceress Supreme.

_**Finis**_

_I hope you've enjoyed this little foray of mine into the realm of Juniper Lee. _

_If you want more from me, read my Yu-Gi-Oh fic, Soul of Silicon, currently in progress. It's a good read so far. I await your feedback._


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